Prosthodontic Identification in Forensic Diagnostics: From Conventional Marking to Digital Traceability and AI-Assisted Recognition—A Narrative Review

Human identification is a central component of medico-legal investigations and disaster victim identification (DVI), particularly when remains are decomposed, burned, fragmented, or skeletonized. Dental tissues, restorations, and prosthetic appliances may preserve patient-specific information under conditions that compromise other identifying features. This narrative review aimed to examine conventional and digital prosthodontic identification and traceability approaches and to evaluate their potential applications in forensic diagnostics and human identification. A structured search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar identified publications from January 2000 to August 2026 on prosthodontic identification, digital traceability, AI-assisted implant recognition, blockchain-based dental data management, and complementary oral biometric methods. Records were independently screened by two authors according to predefined eligibility criteria. Of the 1446 records identified, 558 duplicates were removed, and 92 studies were included in the final narrative synthesis. The evidence was synthesized thematically according to the identification or traceability approach. Conventional methods remain simple and accessible but show variable durability and readability, whereas digital and electronic systems offer greater information capacity and retrievability but are limited by technical requirements and incomplete forensic validation. In a 20 min thermal-exposure experiment, acrylic resin blocks were largely destroyed at 800 °C, whereas some metallic identification labels remained readable at 800–1000 °C, with material-dependent differences in preservation and readability among metallic labels at 1200 °C. These findings represent study-specific observations rather than universal thermal resistance thresholds. Digital imaging, intraoral scanning, CAD/CAM records, AI-assisted implant recognition, and blockchain-supported systems further expand traceability, although the overall evidence remains heterogeneous. Prosthodontic identification and traceability encompass complementary conventional and digital approaches rather than a single universally applicable method, while oral biometrics serve only as adjunctive evidence and cannot independently establish identity. Their forensic value depends on durability, retrievability, availability of corresponding antemortem information, interoperability, and appropriate management of sensitive patient data. Further standardized and clinically relevant validation is needed before advanced traceability systems can be routinely incorporated into forensic identification workflows.