NCJ Number
220431
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 52 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2007 Pages: 1161-1163
Date Published
September 2007
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Based on radiological evidence from 516 conventional orthopantomograms, this study examined the correlation between age and the stage of wisdom-tooth eruption in 410 male and 106 female Black South Africans of known age (12-26 years).
Abstract
The study found that data on wisdom-tooth eruption could be used for the forensic estimation of the minimum and most probable ages of individuals. The wisdom-tooth eruption stages identified were "no emergence," "alveolar emergence," "gingival emergence," and "complete emergence." Statistical scores were determined for the individual stages and separately for both sexes. The minimum age of alveolar emergence of the wisdom teeth ranged from 12.1 to 13.8 years in females and from 12.8 to 15.4 years in males. The mean age of alveolar emergence ranged from 15.1 to 18.0 years in women and from 17.2 to 19.1 years in men. The minimum age of gingival emergence ranged from 14.5 to 16.3 years in females and from 16.0 to 18.4 years in males. The minimum age of complete emergence of the wisdom teeth in the occlusal plane was 16.1 years in females and 16.7-17.0 years in males. The investigated radiographs were obtained from the files of the Department of Oral Pathology and Oral Biology of the University of Pretoria. The orthopantomograms were made during the years 1992-2002. Impacted wisdom teeth were excluded from the analysis. 3 tables and 10 references