Validation of the Third Molar Maturation Index to estimate the age of criminal responsibility in Northeastern Brazil

Nóbrega, Johnys Berton Medeiros da; Protásio, Ane Polline Lacerda; Ribeiro, Isabella Lima Arrais; Valença, Ana Maria Gondim; Santiago, Bianca Marques; Cameriere, Roberto

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.109917

Cited by 19 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…With the exception of the third molars, permanent dentition completed its development between 12 and 14 years of age. Third molars are estimated to develop between the ages of 15.7 and 23.3 years, and because this timeframe intercrosses the legal age of 18, they can serve as a discriminant tool to distinguish adults from minors 1 – 3 , 5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Validation of the Third Molar Maturation Index (I3M) to assess the legal adult age in the Portuguese population

Neves¹,

Antunes‐Ferreira

Machado³

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Age estimation is a major step in forensic and legal procedures. Its relevance has been increasing due to growing society issues, such as identification of missing people, crimes against minors or lack of valid identification papers from locals or foreigners. Evaluation of the cut-off value of the Third Molar Maturation Index (I3M) = 0.08 for discriminating minors from adults in the Portuguese population. The left lower third molars were analysed by applying a specific cut-off value of 0.08 determined by Cameriere et al. in 2008. A sample of 778 digital panoramic radiographs of a representative Portuguese sample (442 females and 336 males), in the age range of 12–24 years (mean age 17.7 ± 2.98 years in females and 18.1 ± 3.0 years in males), was retrospectively evaluated. I3M decreased as the real age gradually increased in both sexes. The 0.08 cut-off score was valuable in discriminating adults from minors. According to the pooled results, the accuracy, by means of area under the curve, was 92.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 91.0–94.6%). The proportion of correctly classified subjects (sensitivity) was 90.7% (95% CI 88.7–92.8%) and the specificity was 94.9% (95% CI 93.3–96.4%). The results show that I3M is a valuable method to differentiate minors from adults in the Portuguese population.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the last years, I 3M was successfully validated worldwide, in Europe 2 , 13 – 23 , Africa 1 , 24 – 27 , Asia 5 , 28 – 31 , America 3 , 32 – 36 and Oceania 37 . Overall, I 3M had considerable reliability among all countries, however, to date, this method is not validated for a Portuguese sample.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validation of the Third Molar Maturation Index (I3M) to assess the legal adult age in the Portuguese population

Neves¹,

Antunes‐Ferreira

Machado³

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…A study by Mwesigwa et al 29 on 1021 patients in Uganda, also confirmed that this is a valid method for determining age between 10 and 22 years. On the other hand, several authors determined that the Cameriere method applied to the wisdom teeth was valid for determining 18 years of age in different populations in the Dominican Republic 30 , Brazil 31 , Japan 32 , or Sardinia 33 . The degree of mineralisation of the wisdom teeth depends on and is specific to the studied population 34 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demirjian and Cameriere methods for age estimation in a Spanish sample of 1386 living subjects

Melo

Ata-Ali

et al. 2022

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Currently, human identification is a challenge. Migration due to war, economic crisis or other factors is frequent. The wisdom teeth are the last teeth to initiate and complete development therefore, are fundamental for determining the legal age of majority in different countries. The aim of the study is to determine the validity of two methods based on mineralisation of the third molar to predict the ages of majority of individuals in a Spanish population. Orthopantomographies of 636 men and 750 women (mean age, 16.5 years) were analysed. The Demirjian and Cameriere methods were used, and each tooth was assigned a value according to the degree of mineralisation and maturation. The level of significance used in the analyses was 5% (α = 0.05), with a power of 96.2%. The predictive ability of the Demirjian method to determine 18 years of age in the lower wisdom teeth 93%, respectively. The Cameriere method has a predictive capacity of 88%. There are no statistically significant differences between men and women. Stage H and a cut-off point of 0.08 were the guiding values for determining the age of majority of the study population. For other proposed age ranges (14 and 16 years), both methods were useful in determining the actual age of individuals, with the Demirjian method having a sensitivity of 97.5% with and Cameriere having a predictive capacity of 95%. Both methods can be used with high reliability to determine the age of individuals where reliable documentation is unavailable. Stage H with the Demirjian method and a cut-off point of 0.08 with the Cameriere method can determine the age of majority of the Spanish population. The combination of the two methods does not substantially increase predictive ability.

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“…1 The development of the third molars is generally evaluated between the ages of 13 and 23 years, and the almost apexification of the third molar roots may be regarded as one of the relevant evidence for determining whether a person is older than 18 years, and as well as an adult. [7][8][9][10] In 2008, Cameriere et al 11 studied a novel technique for estimating adult age on panoramic radiographs (OPTs), based on the proportion of standardized measurements of the open apex and length of the third molar, known as the third molar maturity index (I 3M ). A cutoff value of I 3M = 0.08 was determined to identify a person juvenile or adult and indicated high sensitivity and specificity.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The accuracy of the I 3M in age estimation for other populations has been conducted by OPTs to date 3,4,7–34 . However, OPTs have disadvantages, such as distortion, magnification, and lack of cross-sectional data, and are limited in ensuring the accuracy of a 3-dimensional (3D) object.…”

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confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Third Molar Maturity Index by Cone Beam Computed Tomography in Legal Age Estimation

Yurdabakan

Karadayı

Yetimoğlu

2023

Am J Forensic Med Pathol

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This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the accuracy and applicability of the third molar maturity index (I3M) for discriminating Turkish minors from adults, and its relationship with chronological age using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). A total of 122 CBCT scans of Turkish individuals (55 boys and 67 girls) aged 13 to 23 years were evaluated using the I3M cutoff value. Chronological age gradually decreased as the I3M value increased. The overall accuracy was 95.9%. The sensitivity and specificity of this test were 93.5% and 97.4%, respectively. Positive predictive value was 95.6%. The intraclass correlation coefficient values of the I3M for the intraobserver and interobserver agreements were 0.998 and 0.996, respectively. This study showed relatively higher reproducibility of measurements on CBCT scans than on panoramic radiographs in the literature. Cone beam computed tomography may be advantageous and preferred over panoramic radiographs in distinguishing the legal age threshold of 18 years according to Cameriere's method when a more extensive investigation is needed to support the solution of challenging and uncertain cases in forensic medicine.

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Validation of the Third Molar Maturation Index to estimate the age of criminal responsibility in Northeastern Brazil

Cited by 19 publications

References 30 publications

Validation of the Third Molar Maturation Index (I3M) to assess the legal adult age in the Portuguese population

Validation of the Third Molar Maturation Index (I3M) to assess the legal adult age in the Portuguese population

Demirjian and Cameriere methods for age estimation in a Spanish sample of 1386 living subjects

Evaluation of Third Molar Maturity Index by Cone Beam Computed Tomography in Legal Age Estimation

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