On Friday, August 8, 2025, the São Leopoldo Mandic Faculty received professors from the Faculty of Dentistry of the Universidad de la República (UDELAR) of Uruguay, for a technical visit focused on a pioneering project in Forensic Dentistry.

The training relates to a study conducted by Professor Dr. Ademir Franco in partnership with Uruguayan professors Alicia Picapedra, Verônica Gargano, and Giannina Quagliata. In addition, Professor Débora Moreira, master's and doctoral students Emerson David and Roberta Pinto, and undergraduate research project students Laís Corrêa Silva and Maria Eduarda Causs are also involved in the research. 

The partnership aims to benefit the Uruguayan academic and forensic community with more effective tools for identifying the dental age of individuals from facial images. It is expected that these tools will be applicable to assist in the criminal prosecution of violence against children and adolescents, identification of deceased persons, among other uses. 

The need to develop a calibration protocol stems from a scientific gap due to the scarcity of radiological studies of this nature with Uruguayan samples, making this pioneering research for the fields of Radiology and Forensic Dentistry. 

The technical visit marks the final stage of the training conducted by Professor Dr. Ademir Franco, from São Leopoldo Mandic, and was attended by other representatives of the institution, such as Dr. Marcelo Napimoga, from the Executive Directorate of Postgraduate Studies and Research, and Dr. Juliana Napimoga, from the Academic Directorate of Postgraduate Studies. 

“With this in-person meeting, we had the opportunity to strengthen ties, showcase our infrastructure, and practice the standardized application of age estimation methods. At the end of the day, we conducted statistical tests to quantify our agreement,” said Professor Dr. Ademir Franco regarding the Uruguayan delegation's visit. 

In addition to being a milestone in scientific research focused on Forensic Dentistry, the partnership between the professors is an example of scientific cooperation and a reflection of the institution's and its faculty's commitment to quality.