FORENSIC AGE ASSESSMENT: INSIGHTS FROM DECIDUOUS TOOTH ERUPTION AND CARPAL OSTEOGENESIS
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Keywords
Age Estimation, Bone Age (Greulich and Pyle), Forensic, Dental Age (Demirjian’s),
Abstract
Estimating age is a vital component of forensic science, especially when it comes to identifying individuals and determining their age in legal and criminal cases Objective: This study compares the accuracy of two methods for estimating forensic age: deciduous teeth eruption and carpal bone ossification in the hand. Study Design: Conducted as a randomized controlled trial. Study place: Department of Radiology and Imaging, LUH Hyderabad. Study duration: Six-month from January 2023 to June 2024. Methodology: The study included 120 children, aged 5-15, who were divided into 02 groups of 60 each. Group A had their dental age estimated using radioscopic pictures (RVG) of their lower left teeth, analyzed with the Demirjian method. Group B had their skeletal age estimated using hand-wrist radiographs, analyzed with the Greulich & Pyle method. The study compared the actual ages of the children with their estimated skeletal and dental ages to see how closely they matched. Results: In this study, total 120 children enrolled, 02 groups were included of 60 children each. Group A had 35 (57.14%) boys and 25(42.86%) girls, while Group B had 32 (54.29%) boys and 28 (45.71%) girls. In Group A, 32 patients (52.86%) were between 5-10 years old and 28 patients (47.14%) were between 11-15 years old. Similarly, in Group B, 31 patients (51.43%) were between 5-10 years old and 29 patients (48.57%) were between 11-15 years old. In Group A, the gap between actual age and dental age was slightly less than a year for both younger (5-10 yrs.) was 0.64±1.24 yrs.) & in older kids (11-15 yrs.) was 0.67±0.18 years. In Group B, the gap between actual age & skeletal age was also less than a year for both age groups. The results showed no significant difference between the 02 groups. Conclusion: It is concluded that both dental age estimation by using Demirjian's method & skeletal age estimation using Greulich and Pyle's and Greulich method are useful approaches for forensic age estimation. Notably, the results show that both methods yield comparable outcomes, with no significant difference observed between them. This suggests that either method can be confidently used in forensic contexts to estimate an individual's age.
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Dr۔ Muhammad Arif
Associate professor, Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Rawal Institute of Health Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Dr. Nadia Aslam
Lecturer, Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro Sindh, Pakistan.
Dr. Waheed Ali Nahyoon
Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro Sindh Pakistan.
Dr. Nasim Irshad
Assistant professor, Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Dr. Aisha Khalid
Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Jamshoro Sindh Pakistan.
Dr. Aasia
Intern, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Bhittai Dental and Medical College Hospital, Mirpurkhas, Sindh Pakistan.
Dr. Marvi
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, University of Baluchistan, Quetta.