Human teeth as a reliable age marker: A study on migrant labour population

Age is one among the factors which is supposed to be identified in establishing identity of an unknown or deceased person. It is found to be more reliable and accurate to determine the age of a person. The determination of age can be achieved from various physical markers present in body, this includes teeth, bones, and skull. There is certain age where the long bones tend to complete their growth, the growth of skull is well marked by the time of order of their suture closures. A well-developed cranial bone depicts that it is intersected with a suture. besides the bone and skull another reliable physical marker is the human teeth, teeth is considered to be the hardest tissue in humans which is not affected by the factors such as heat, temperature, moisture etc. it is an effective identifier in cases of mass disaster where it is practically impossible to determine the identity of the person through the bones available from the crime site. Teeth is a very important factor to determine the age in disputed cases. Since the age can be estimated even from skeletal remains, teeth are preferred for estimation in certain cases as it is considered to be one among the hardest tissues of the human body. Teeth has got a very unique feature as it cannot be destroyed by heat or any thermal factors or other environmental factors. This property of the teeth has to be effectively utilized for age estimation. The following study was conducted on migrant workers working on a peeling company, the purpose behind the study is to determine whether all the workers have 18 years of age and to ensure that no or none of them are working below the age of 18. There are certain cases reporting that some of these workers have found committing impersonating forgery claiming to be above 18 years of age. The study is specifically to find the age of workers by examining the teeth and also to find if any forgery is done or not. This study was also done to check whether labor laws has been violated or not in accordance with the Constitution of India, no child below the age fourteen years of age shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment, therefore employment of a child under the age of 14 years is punishable by law (child labor prohibition and regulation act of 2012). The need of the study arises from this very fact that the proof of age is not an authenticated document. With repeated reports of forgery regarding the proof of age, submitting ration card as proof of age. And in the wake of current scenarios to ensure that no child is exploited in any kind of ways. The study was done on migrant labor population working in a factory and the estimation is carried out using the Demirjian method along with Acharya’s India specific value and the probable age of the respondents are calculated.

Dental age estimation methods in children based on radiograph panoramic

Objectives: Age estimation is a key point in forensics, archeology, pediatrics and pediatric dentistry. Analysis using the development of teeth is one of the available methods that are used for physical identification, as well as age, in children. This article reviewed several journals about the methods of age identification, especially in children. The purpose of this review was to briefly inform about the recent researches regarding the application of age identification methods in children by using panoramic radiography as it is the most widely used method, in the years 2020-2021. Review: This article was a narrative review. Analyzed articles were searched from the PubMed database which were published between 2020 until 2021. There were 12 journals in accordance with the inclusion criteria of age estimation method in children using panoramic radiography. Conclusion: 7 of 12 journals that met the inclusion criteria used Willems method in the researches, 5 journals used Demirjian method, 3 journals used Cameriere method, 2 journals used Nolla method. Willems method was the most used analysis for identifying age and proved to be effective for identification in various populations, such as Belgium, Caucasian, Turkish, Saudi Arabian, Kenyan, Chinese and Taiwanese.

Estimation of Dental Age by Demirjian and Willems Method in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Nepal

Introduction: Dental age estimation using orthopantomogram is very useful in pediatric dentistry, orthodontics in clinical diagnosis and treatment planning and also has forensic application. Demirjian method is widely used for age estimation and Willems method has been suggested to be accurate than Demirjian in various populations. To estimate the dental age of children in a specific population of Nepal by Demirjian and Willems method, compare them with the chronological age and assess their applicability. Materials and Method: Digital orthopantomograms of 5 to 14 years of children were used to estimate the dental age by Demirjian’s 7- teeth method and Willems method. Descriptive statistics was used and mean with standard deviation was calculated for gender and age of the samples. Paired t-test was used for comparison of chronological age with dental age. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Pearson correlation was used to assess the correlation between chronological and dental age in both the genders. Result: By Demirjian method, there was an underestimation of 0.276 years in males and 0.194 in females and by Willems method, 0.652 in males and 0.847 in females which were statistically significant. There was an underestimation of dental age in all the age groups except in the age group of 5,7 and 14 for Demirjian age which was statistically nonsignificant. Pearson correlation demonstrated strong positive correlation between chronological age and dental age. Conclusion: The underestimation of dental age was more by Willems method as compared to Demirjian method. There was a strong positive relationship between chronological age and dental age in both the genders. Demirjian’s 7- teeth method was more applicable as compared to Willems method when tested in selected Nepalese children population

Dental Age in Precocious and Delayed Puberty Periods

Objectives Precocious puberty indicates quick growth inception and delayed puberty indicates retardation in growth. This study aims to investigate whether dental development is synchronous with somatic development. Materials and Methods In this study, 62 girls and 34 boys with precocious puberty aged 5 to 9, 29 girls with delayed puberty aged 13 to 16, and 43 boys with delayed puberty aged 14 to 17; 169 children (91 girls and 78 boys) with normal development were compared about their dental ages through their panoramic radiographs by using the Demirjian method and skeletal ages from hand-wrist radiographs by using Greulich-Pyle atlas. Results The findings showed that, in all cases, the dental age values were higher than chronologic and skeletal age values to a statistically significant degree. In the precocious puberty group, the dental age values were higher than chronologic age values to a statistically significant degree. In the delayed puberty group, the difference determined between the chronological age and the dental age was not found to be statistically significant. Conclusion Given that the Demirjian method is inclined to make calculations that are higher than the chronological age, our findings suggest that the dental development was faster in the precocious puberty group and retarded in the delayed puberty group.

The Influence of Age on the Development of Dental Caries in Children. A Radiographic Study

Dental caries is a chronic disease that can be influenced by a multitude of factors. Poor oral hygiene and unhealthy eating habits are the most incriminating factors in the onset of dental caries, but age has been proven to impact the disease. The aim of this study was to find correlations between age and the evolution of dental caries in the first permanent molars in children. The retrospective study was conducted based on 400 panoramic radiographs, belonging to Romanian children between the ages of 6 and 14 years. All first permanent molars were investigated, and the carious lesions were classified according to their depth. The chronological age was calculated by subtracting the patient’s date of birth from the date when the radiograph was performed, while for the assessment of dental age, the Demirjian method was used. The gender of the patients did not significantly influence the number of superficial, medium, and deep carious lesions. Most of the identified carious lesions were superficial. Regarding correlations between age and dental caries, there was an association between the decrease in the chronological age and the increase in the number of superficial carious lesions on the first permanent molars and also an association between the increase in the chronological age or dental age and the increase in the number of medium and deep carious lesions on the first permanent molars. Age can impact the development of dental caries in first permanent molars.

Radiographic Correlation of Skeletal Maturation Using the Stages of Dental Calcification in a Peruvian Population

Objective. To identify the correlation between the Baccetti method of SM (skeletal maturation) and the stages of DC (dental calcification) using the Demirjian method in the Orthodontics Service of the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) in Lima-Peru. Materials and Methods. The sample was obtained from panoramic and lateral radiographs of 200 subjects (116 women and 84 men) with ages between 9 and 17 years. Canine, premolar, and molar teeth calcification was evaluated using the Demirjian method while SM was evaluated by the cervical vertebrae with the Baccetti method. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between the maturation of these cervical vertebrae and DC. Results. There is a high correlation between the Baccetti method of maturation of the cervical vertebrae and the stages of DC ranging from r = 0.635 to 0.774 for men and from r = 0.677 to 0.784 for women (p<0.001), the second lower molar being the one with the highest correlation (r = 0.774 in men) and the second lower premolar (r = 0.784 in women). Conclusions. Stages of DC could be used as a reliable indicator of SM.

Radiological age estimation using third molars mineralization in a sample attending orthodontic clinics (A retrospective study)

Background: The evaluation of the chronological age is a practical method in crime investigation field that assists in identifying individuals to treat them as underage or adult. This study aimed to assess the stages of third molars mineralization in relation to chronological age of Iraqi individuals, determine the gender differences and arches (maxillary/mandibular) differences. Materials and Methods: A total of 300 orthopantomograms of orthodontic patients were collected according to specific criteria and evaluated visually. The developmental stages of maxillary and mandibular third molars were determined according to Demirjian method. The chronological age was recorded according to the particular mineralization stages at which it reached considering genders, sides and jaws. Comparisons were done using paired sample and independent sample t-tests. Results: Results showed that there was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) between maxillary and mandibular third molars. The maxillary third molars reached earlier than mandibular one in stages F and G. There was no significant difference between the mean ages of males and females at each given developmental stage in the maxillary and mandibular third molars except for the stage D in the maxilla and stages D and E in the mandible. The development of third molar teeth on the right and left sides was similar except for the maxillary arch in males when there was a significant difference in stage C and D and stage E in the mandibular arch. Conclusion: The Demirjian method is an excellent approach for age assessment using Orthopantomogram. All of the differences between the current study and other studies could be because of the difference in the populations who were chosen from different geographical areas. Keywords: Age estimation, Demirjian method, third molar, Orthopantomogram, chronological age.