COMPUTERIZED MEASUREMENTS OF THE LOWER 3RD MOLAR RELATED TO CHRONOLOGICAL AGE IN YOUNG-ADULTS

Chronologic age is an utmost important birth record in many industrial ized Western countries. When the dare of birth is unknown, there is a demand for establishing the chronologic age. Denial methods for age es timations are considered more reliable than most other methods by the majority of researchers and are among the most commonly used means to determine age. Traditionally, these methods have most often been based on subjectively estimated, radiographic stages of tooth development. In the present study metric measurements of the length of the forming root have been used and are compared with one standard method. The for med part of the root of the lower third molar as seen in a panoramic r adiograph was digitized. Data were directly stored in a computer for s ubsequent statistical analysis. The technique of collecting data with the aid of a computer had some statistical advantages. The precision o f age estimations was, however, slightly inferior to the standard meth od.