Forensic dental age estimations in a north Indian population testing applicability and suitability of different radiological methods

Abstract

Present study was conducted to validate and comprehend the suitability of different radiological dental age estimation methods on a North Indian population. Digital panoramic radiographs/ orthopantomograms of 720 participants were collected and categorized into three (03) groups namely age-group I (3.00-15.99 years), age-group II (16.00-30.99 years) and age-group III (31.00-50.99 years). This age grouping was done as per the dental development and maturation process of permanent teeth. Three dental scoring methods i.e., Nolla s, Demirjian s and Willem s method were applied for age assessment of children in age-group I. Keeping in mind the exclusion criteria for the study, 168 radiographs were analyzed for age-group I. The dental ages of young and older adults belonging to age-group II and III were estimated using Kvaals, tooth coronal index (TCI) and pulp chamber trunk height ratio (PCTHR) methods. Since, only posterior teeth (permanent premolars and molars) were considered for age estimation of adults, the analysis of radiographs in age-group II and III was done for premolars and molars, separately. Thus, 270 and 266 radiographs were analyzed for premolars and molars respectively in age-group II. Similarly, 160 and 146 radiographs were analyzed for molars respectively in age-group III. The objective of the study was to compare the relative accuracy as well as to evaluate age group specificity of these methods in the studied population. newline