Forensic age estimation in living or dead individuals is an important and difficult task. Teeth are considered a reliable indicator of age and provide a number of parameters for age prediction. The aim of this study was to estimate the age in a sample of Egyptian population using the tooth coronal index (TCI) in the mandibular permanent 1 st molars in dental panoramic radiographs. Digital panoramic radiographs from 170 participants of known age and sex were included. They were used to measure the crown height (CH) and the coronal pulp cavity height (CPCH) in millimeters. Then, TCI was calculated according to Ikeda et al., (1985). Non significant statistical difference was observed between females and males as regards the TCI. A significant negative linear correlation between chronological age and values of TCI was detected. The correlation coefficients were-0.988,-0.987 and-0.986 in all participants, female participants and male participants respectively. The values of TCI were then subjected to regression analysis to derive equations for age estimation. Regression equations showed coefficient of determination (R 2) of 0.984, 0.986 and 0.982 in all participants, female participants and male participants respectively. It was concluded that calculation of the TCI from the mandibular permanent 1 st molars is a good predictor of age among Egyptians. Regression equations based on TCI were established and they proved to be very useful for prediction of age with no need for sex specific equations. So, calculation of the TCI is recommended as an easy method for age estimation. Further studies on larger sample size and studies using teeth other than the mandibular permanent 1 st molars are needed.

The mandible is the largest and strongest bone of the face which can play a role in sex and age identification. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of some mandibular measurements in digital dental panoramic radiographs for identification of sex and age in a sample of Egyptian population. Digital panoramic radiographs from 150 Egyptian participants of known age and sex were included. They were used to measure the maximum ramus breadth, minimum ramus breadth, coronoid height and mental index. The four studied measurements' values were higher in males than in females. Among the four measurements, only maximum ramus breadth was found to contribute significantly for sex prediction. A logistic regression equation for prediction of sex was derived. The four studied measurements showed a strong positive, statistically significant correlation with age in both sexes. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to predict age based on the four measurements. However, the contributions of minimal ramus breadth and coronoid height to the model were not statistically significant. Therefore, only the maximum ramus breadth, mental index in addition to sex were included in the regression model to obtain an equation for age prediction. It was concluded that the mandible exhibits sexual dimorphism and can be used to predict sex with quite satisfactory results based on measuring the maximum ramus breadth according to the derived equation. Furthermore, the four studied parameters showed a strong positive correlation with age and two of them (the maximum ramus breadth and the mental index) contributed significantly to the age prediction equation.

Fingerprints have been used widely in human identification. The possibility of sex identification using fingerprints was based on a hypothesis that males have coarser ridges than females. The aim of the present work was to study the fingerprint ridge density as a method of sex identification in a sample of young Egyptian population. A cross sectional statistical study was carried out on 200 volunteers; 100 males and 100 females (age from 21 to 30 years). The epidermal ridges were counted in two distal (radial and ulnar) and one proximal region of each fingerprint. The radial and ulnar squares were placed directly on the radial and ulnar side of the central core region, while the proximal square was placed diagonally by placing one of its corners over the intersection of the joint line with the center line. The fingerprint mean ridge density of the three regions in all fingers, radial, ulnar and proximal regions were calculated and compared. Receiver-operating characteristic curves for predicting the probability of female gender were generated. Fingerprint ridge densities in the distal regions were significantly greater than in the proximal region in both sexes. Females showed significantly higher ridge density in the three regions for each and all fingers. The mean ridge density in all fingers at a cut off value >11.87 ridges/ 25mm 2 has a positive predictive value (PPV) of 90.09% for females, while the mean ridge density in radial region at a cut off value >12.2 ridges/ 25mm 2 has PPV of 86.96%. It is concluded that fingerprints are valuable in sex is identification in Egyptian population based on fingerprint ridge density. In addition, ridge density can be considered as a morphological feature for individual variation.