Forensic Age Estimation of Chinese Malaysian Adults by Evaluating Occlusal Tooth Wear Using Modified Kim's Index

Development of formulae for dental age estimation using digital radiographs in the Mongolian population

This study aimed to examine the applicability of the pulp/tooth ratio (PTR) method for age estimation in Mongolian populations using panoramic radiographs and derive new regression formulae. Moreover, we aimed to assess the accuracy of these formulae in other subjects from the Mongolian population and compare them with the other formulae derived from different Asian populations. The total sample size of the study was 381. The formulae were derived from the examination of panoramic radiographs of 271 individuals aged 15-62 years. Following Cameriere's method, PTR was calculated for the upper and lower canine teeth. Linear regression analyses were performed between the actual age and that obtained from upper-lower canine PTR and established formulae for age estimation. To verify the formulae, two types of test samples were collected: 73 panoramic radiographs and 37 periapical radiographs. The estimated age was calculated using our new formulae and three other formulae derived from Asian populations. The correlation coefficient between the actual age and that obtained by PTR was significantly negative for both canines. According to our new regression formulae, the differences between the estimated age and actual age showed a bell-shaped curve distribution in both test groups. While using the other formulae derived from the Asian population, the distribution patterns obtained were significantly different in the Mongolian population. This study was the first to examine the relationship between actual age and PTR in Mongolian population, and these results advance the field of forensic science in Mongolia.

Reliability of dentin translucency and incremental cemental lines in age estimation using light and stereomicroscopes: A comparative study

Age estimation of the dead and human remains has been challenging in forensic medicine, both in mass disasters and criminal investigations. There are several approaches to accurately evaluate age, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Dentine translucency (DT) and incremental cemental lines (ICL) have often been used for age estimation in living adults and unknown skeletal remains. We attempted to estimate age using both these parameters and compare accuracy of age estimated using these parameters in a larger sample. A total of 300 extracted single-rooted permanent teeth were collected from the patients aged between 15 and 75 years. Longitudinal ground sections in the buccolingual direction of 250 μm thickness were prepared, and the images obtained were subsequently analyzed to measure the length of DT using the ImageJ software program. In addition, the number of ICL were also counted in each tooth section. The age of the individuals was estimated using both methods individually, and the results have shown that both parameters have shown reliable age estimates in the middle age groups. However, there was overestimation of age up to 10.6 years in the younger age group using DT and an underestimation of age up to 13.4 years in the older age group with ICL. Pearson's correlation statistics revealed a strong positive and statistically significant correlation of both the parameters with the chronological age (0.973 and 0.917). To conclude, the method using the ICL should be preferred due to the relatively higher number of errors (<±3 years) which were considered excellent.

Evolution of dental age estimation methods in adults over the years from occlusal wear to more sophisticated recent techniques

Background

Age estimation has been an integral part of forensic science, and age estimation by dental means is by far the most commonly employed method. Dental age estimation in children is more accurate and straightforward as most methods use the chronological stages of odontogenesis that are highly systematic, reducing the chances of dispersed results. In contrast, estimation of age in adults becomes tricky and less accurate with varied approaches since tooth formation is already complete.

Main body

The methods of adult dental age estimation have come a long way from a calculated guess based on crude visual observation of teeth to radiological methods and to more recent sophisticated methods. Technological advances have opened up molecular and genetic methods by utilizing DNA methylation and telomere length to improve the accuracy of age estimation by reducing error chances.

Conclusions

Although dental age estimation methods in children and adolescents have been extensively reviewed, various adult age estimation methods are not reviewed as a whole. The aim of this review is to appraise the evolution of dental age estimation methods in adults over the years from mere visualization of dental attrition to employing more sophisticated means such as radioactive carbon dating and genetics. This comprehensive review also attempts to add an account of the accuracy and suitability of various adult dental age estimation methods.

Estimation of Age by Evaluating the Occlusal Tooth Wear in Molars: A Study on Dakshina Kannada Population

Purpose

Assessment of teeth to estimate age in the living as well as the dead is well documented in the literature. Though applied in conjunction with other parameters in Gustafson’s technique, attrition of teeth solely is an underexplored indicator for age estimation mainly in India. Most of the studies using attrition of teeth have been conducted in bioarchaeology, and in populations where studies are being conducted in forensic contexts, the results are debatable. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of age estimation using the Average Stage of Attrition (ASA) method by Li and Ji in adults of the Dakshina Kannada region.

Materials and Methods

This cross-sectional study assessed the degree of attrition in both maxillary and mandibular first and second molars of 136 adults of Dakshina Kannada origin (age range: 20–70 years) according to the 10 stages given by Li and Ji to derive population-specific linear regression equations.

Results

Univariate analysis of prediction of age with attrition showed a significant association of attrition score with age, stratified by sex, arch as well as in total (p-value <0.001) with a standard error of estimate of 9.231 years. The estimated age was within ±5 years of the actual age in 44.2% of the females and 50.0% of the males. A comparative review of 23 studies done to estimate age from attrition score clinically is documented in the manuscript.

Conclusion

The findings of this study suggest that evaluation of tooth wear by the Average Stage of Attrition (ASA) method can be used as a non-invasive means to aid in the determination of age in adults of Dakshina Kannada origin. Although the error increases with age, this method provides a measurable means of seriation into older and younger categories.

Tooth wear as an indicator of acculturation process in remote Amazonian populations

Riverine populations are typical of the Amazon region that depend on nature for subsistence. These people are considered an intermediate population between the urban and indigenous, the original Amazon habitants. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the relationship between tooth wear and age in a remote riverine population from the Amazon, located by the Tucumanduba River (n = 94), and to compare them to previous findings obtained from semi-isolated indigenous (n = 223) and urban populations (n = 40) from the Amazon region, which were examined using the same methodology. Using linear regression, tooth wear explained 54.5% of the variation in the ages of the riverine subjects (p<0.001). This coefficient is mid-way between those obtained in semi-isolated indigenous populations (65–86%) and urban subjects (12%) living in the Amazon. Our findings suggest that tooth wear, a direct evidence of what an individual ate in the past, may be an indicator of the acculturation process in remote populations.

Dental age estimation methods in adult dentitions: An overview

Age estimation is one of the essential factors in human identification. Teeth bestowed with features such as hardness and resilience to external factors such as chemicals, putrefaction, and fire explosions serve as a durable source in age estimation. Concurrently, they present with peculiar and comparable features of age-associated regressive changes along with dental procedures, which make them a mirror reflection of age changes from cradle to the grave of an individual. Age estimation in adults poses an enigma to the forensic dentists because as the age advances, the dentitions get influenced by numerous exogenous and endogenous factors which may lead to discrepancies between dental age and chronologic age. Since 1950, many authors have presented various methods for assessing age of individuals above 18 years. Here is an overview of the different methods with their application and limitations along with a mention of newer methods developed and tested with the formulation of population-specific formulas by Indian authors. The data have been sourced from different journal articles retrieved through Google Scholar and PubMed Central and articles received as study materials during the fellowship program in forensic odontology using keywords such as age estimation, adult dentitions, dentin translucency, and cementum annulations.