Legal Medical Age Estimation in Portuguese Adult Cadavers: Evaluation of the Accuracy of Forensic Dental Invasive and Non-Invasive Methods

Abstract

Age estimation of unknown human cadavers is important in setting a crime investigation, such as homicide, suicide or in mass disaster because it can guide forensic investigators to the correct identity among a large number of possible matches. More and more the courts ask for medico-legal age estimations of unknown human cadavers by forensic dentistry. This research project in establishing the applicability of radiographic and morphological parameter's used in forensic dentistry in a Portuguese adult population. The main goal is to compare the chronological age with the dental age estimation by radiographic and morphological parameters. To achieve this objective, thirty-five single-rooted teeth were analysed. Radiographic analysis was made through the program of digital radiology software Kodak RVG intra-oral 2200 with exposure factors 60-70 KVp and 7mA. The morphological parameter, translucent dentin was assessed in intact and sectioned tooth. The relationship between the coefficients was calculated between the age and the ratios with the level of inclusion, p<0.05. There was no statistically significant difference between the chronological age and the age estimation by each method. The coefficient of Pearson for the direct measurements of the translucent dentin methodology for sectioned teeth gives the better correlation with the age estimate (r=0.86).