Can root pulp visibility in mandibular first molars be used as an alternative age marker at the 16 year threshold in the absence of mandibular third molars: an orthopantomographic study in a South Indian sample.

In many countries, the 16 years of age threshold is considered to be legally relevant according to the law. This research aims to ascertain the sensitivity and specificity of Olze et al. stages of root pulp visibility (RPV) in a sample of 760 south Indian children aged between 12 and 20 years, with an age threshold of 16 years, using receiver operating characteristic curves and area under the curve (AUC). Spearman's rho correlation showed a strong positive correlation between the RPV stages and age. No significant difference between the right and left lower first molars was seen. RPV Stage 2 showed the highest AUC in both females (0.813) and males (0.790). The performance of the RPV Stage 2 to discriminate the legal age threshold of 16 years resulted in the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy values of 0.61, 0.96 and 0.77 in males, 0.65, 0.97 and 0.80 in females. It resulted in 3.6% and 2.9% of false positives and 38.5% and 34.5% of false negatives in both sexes. Even though, RPV Stage 2 can discriminate reasonably well between two age categories, due to the high percentage of false negatives we recommend its use in conjunction with other age estimation methods.

Assessing the probability of having attained 16 years of age in juveniles using third molar development in a sample of South Indian population.

Juvenile crime or delinquency has been increasing at an alarming rate in recent times. In many countries, including India, the minimum age for criminal responsibility is 16 years. The present study aimed to estimate the probability of a south Indian adolescent either being or being older than the legally relevant age of 16 years using Demirjian's tooth formation stages. Orthopantomograms (OPG) of 640 south Indian adolescents (320 boys and 320 girls) aged between 12 and 20 years were retrospectively analyzed. In each OPG, Demirjian's formation stage of the mandibular left third molar was recorded and the data was subjected to statistical analysis. Descriptive and Pearsons correlation statistics were performed. The empirical probabilities were provided relative to the medico-legal question of predicting 16 years of age. The distribution of age throughout the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentile follows a logical distribution pattern horizontally and vertically. Pearson's correlation statistics showed a strong positive correlation between the Demirjian's stages and age for both sexes. Therefore, it can be concluded that stage "F" can be used to predict the attainment of age equal to or older than 16 years with a probability of 93.9% for boys and 96.6% for girls.