Tooth Cementum Thickness as a Method of Age Estimation in the Forensic Context.
Biology (Basel)
; 11(5)2022 May 21.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35625512
ABSTRACT
Estimating age at death is a key element in the process of human identification of skeletal remains. The interest in dental cementum stems from its increase in thickness throughout life and, at the same time, from the fact it should not be affected by remodeling processes. Since the age assessment is particularly difficult in adults when using traditional anthropological methods on the skeleton, we tested a dental method based on maximum cementum thickness and developed new regression equations. We microscopically analyzed the histological sections of dental roots from a sample of 108 permanent teeth with known age and sex. Age at the time of dental extraction was in the range of 18-84 years. Our findings show that there were no differences in thickness between sexes, dental arch, and mono- and pluriradicular teeth. Separate regression equations were developed for individuals in the whole age range and individuals under 45 years. The equations were then tested on a hold-out sample from the same Mediterranean population demonstrating higher reliability for the equation developed for those under 45. Conversely, due to the increased error in age estimation in individuals over 45, this method should be used with caution in the forensic context when skeletal remains presumably belong to elderly individuals.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Biology (Basel)
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Itália