AGE ESTIMATION WITH THE AID OF TOOTH DEVELOPMENT - A NEW METHOD BASEDON OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENTS

The common methods of age determination with the aid of teeth have bee n criticized because they rely on subjective estimations of tooth deve lopment, as seen in radiographs, and subsequent comparisons with pictu res and descriptions in compiled dental charts. The distribution aroun d an estimated age with these methods is usually more than +2 yr betwe en the 10th and 90th percentiles. In an attempt to avoid subjective es timations, objective measurements of developing teeth were correlated with subjects' chronologic ages. The structures measured were crown he ight, apex width, and root length. With the aid of a multiple regressi on model, a linear relationship between some of these distances and ag e was shown. The distances which were best correlated with age differe d according to sex and age. This method has a 95% C.I. of about +2 yr around an estimated age. It therefore seems to be more accurate than t he earlier methods. Thus, the individual variation in tooth developmen t is of the same order of magnitude, and a better estimation can there fore not be done in children 6-14 yr of age.