Dental Age Estimation Methods in Forensic Dentistry: Literature Review

Abstract

Introduction: Age estimation is essential in human identification, but also in civil and pension lawsuits.Teeth maturation is better than other structures and the dental changes provide characteristics which are grouped in different age estimation methods. Objective:The purpose of this literature review was to present the main methods in age estimation that have been currently used. Material and Methods:The database searched was PubMed and the terms used were "dental age estimation methods" and "forensic dentistry".Just papers about dental age estimation methods written in English between 2012 and 2015 were selected.Results: 67 papers were retrieved through electronic searching, but nine studies were excluded. Conclusion:The most dental age estimation methods were based on developmental stages of the teeth through radiographs and they were applied in children and sub-adults in countries of the different continents. Material and MethodsThe database searched was PubMed until March 2015 and the terms used were "dental age estimation methods" and "forensic dentistry".All studies listed from these terms were analyzed.The inclusion criteria were: papers published in English between 2012 and 2015 from research about dental age estimation methods.Exclusion criteria were: papers published in other languages or in English but before 2012, as well as case report and literature review and other issues different of dental age estimation methods. Results67 articles were retrieved through electronic search, but nine studies were excluded, because one was in German language, two could not be accessed the full text, three were literature review, one was age estimation through skeletal maturation, one was asymmetrical left/right skeletal and dental development and one was sex assessment (Table 1). DiscussionA lot of studies on dental age estimation methods were published in few years, 2012 to early 2015, as showed in this paper.It shows the great interest in Forensic Sciences to study these methods in different groups.The dental age research is due to the fact that teeth start the development at an early embryonic period [8], besides being the most resistant structure of the human body, available for long time after death.In addition, the age estimation as well as the data provided by the chronology of dental development are more reliable than those provided by bone development [2], because in the first there are fewer changes.Due to all these characteristics, human teeth are often used, with the support of anatomical and radiological investigation in order to estimate the age [1-58].

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