Dental Age Estimation in Young Adolescents by Measuring Open Apices: A Forensic Odontology Study with a South Indian Formula

Abstract

Introduction: Estimating age is becoming more and more important in forensic science and dentistry. Identifying criminals, child labor problems, birth certificates, job openings, illegal immigrants, or a body whose identity is unknown are just some of the situations where estimating age is necessary. This study’s goal is to find out how to figure out a child’s chronological age between the ages of 12 and 14 by looking at panoramic X-rays and measuring how big their open tooth root tips are. Things Used and Methods: The left mandibular canine, premolars, and molars from 83 dental panoramic X-rays of patients aged 12 to 14 years were used to study tooth development. The individual tooth-root ratio (A/L) was measured using Sirona software-XG machine (Made by Dentsply Sirona, Germany) in a straight line. An estimated age was made and then matched to the real age. Results: A regression equation was used in statistical analysis to guess the age of the people. To figure out the age, 15.9973-8.465(x7) +1.650(x3) was turned into a linear regression model. Conclusion: The equation that was found in this study can be used to accurately guess the dental age of young teens in South India.

Keywords

• adolescents
• cameriere’s method
• dental age estimation
• dental panoramic tomographs
• forensic sciences
• open apices