Age Assessment in Children and Adolescents by Measuring the Open Apices in Teeth: A New Sardinian Formula

Abstract

Age estimation in children is fundamental in both clinical and forensic fields. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the Cameriere’s European and Italian formulae for age estimation in Sardinian children and adolescents, a genetically isolated population. A sample of 202 orthopantomograms of healthy Sardinian children and adolescents (100 females and 102 males) aged between 6 and 17 years was retrospectively evaluated. The seven left mandibular teeth were assessed with the Cameriere’s European and Italian formulae. The teeth with closed apex (N0) were counted and, in the teeth with open apex, the distance between the inner sides was calculated. All variables showed a significant and negative correlation with age except N0 and g. Sex (g), the variables s, N0, and the first-order interaction between them, contributed substantially to the age measurement (p 0.7). The results showed that the European formula could be accurate for assessing age in this sample of children and adolescents.

Keywords

• forensic sciences
• age estimation
• dental age
• open apices
• children
• Sardinia