Age by Dental Data

Identity & Age
Dr. L. Ananda kumar

Assistant Professor
AGE
 Determination of Age is a important medico-legal data
for :
 civil and criminal purposes
 and also for certain non – legal purposes.
 Certain documents are being considered as age
proof :
 Birth certificates
 School certificates
 Affidavits
 PAN Cards
 Voter cards
 Ration cards
 Age estimation can be :
 Intra uterine
 Extra uterine.
Methods of determination of Age
Under 25 years:
Dental eruption Birth to 25 yrs
Ossification centres foetus to 18 yrs
Epiphyseal union 12 to 25 yrs
25 Years & above :

Tooth microscopy over 20 yrs
Microscopic bone age Birth to95 yrs
Pubic symphysis 30 to 70 yrs
old age:
Cortical resorption birth to 90 yrs
Rib ends calcification 18 to old age
Sternal union more than 20 yrs
Skull suture fusion 20 to 65 yrs
Joint margins 18 to old age
But for all practical purposes
The age of an individual is assessed by

physical data
Dental data
Radiological data
Procedure:
 Age is determined at the request of police
officer/magistrate
 written consent of the person
 Name, age, sex, father’s name, address, occupation
 Date of examination, time / place
 Name of the police person
 Identification marks
 General examination: height, weight, general built.
- changes at puberty: hair, genital organs, secondary

sexual characteristics.
General development :
Height :A full term child at birth is about 45 – 50 cms
in length
60 cms at the end of six months
68 cms at the end of 1 year
90 – 100 cms at the end of 4 year
Weight : At birth 2 ½ to 3kgs

0.5 Kg / month for the first year
Weight doubles by 5 mon & triples at
1 st yr
But these data not very reliable

and varies greatly from individual to individual.
Secondary sexual characteristics :
In male:
14 yrs: Fine hair begin to appear on pubis.
The testis becomes large and firm, the
penis begins to enlarge
15 yrs: pubic hair has moderate growth.

Hair appear in axillae
16 yrs: pubic hair is well grown, external

genital has adult growth.
16-17yrs: Hair begins to appear on the face

voice becomes hoarse.
Secondary sexual characteristics :
In female:
13yrs :
 The breasts begin to develop
 Some downy pubic hair growth appears on mons pubis,
 Labia develops
 Menstruation starts.
14 -15 yrs:
pubic hairs are well grown
Hair appears in the axillae.
pubic hair initially are sparse, soft, light colour

and later
become thick, bushy, dark, with in 2yrs of
onset of puberty.
In males , the pubic hair extends upwards in

the midline towards umbilicus
 scalp hair: Turn gray at about 35 – 40 years.
 axillary and pubic hair: gray at old age.
 Arcus senilis appear after 40 years, complete before 60 yrs
 Wrinkles on the face appear after 40 years.
 Cataract appears in old age.
 lipping of vertebra, changes in vertebra.
These signs as a whole, are not much reliable,

as they may vary
from person to person and
from place to place.
Hence, additional objective data based on dental and Radiological

changes are required for age estimation
Dental data :
All mammalians are
 Diphiodent ( having decidual and permanent sets)
&
 Heterodont ( morphologically different in different parts of
jaw).
Components of tooth consist of –

Enamel,
dentine,
dental pulp,
gum,
Alveolar process,
peridontal membrane,
nerves and blood vessels.
Development of teeth :
Prenatal :
 The deciduous teeth commences mineralization

at about 20 wks of intra uterine life.
 By 28 weeks mineralization has commenced in

all the deciduous teeth.
 The buccal cusp of 1st permanent molar begins to

mineralize a wk or two before birth.
 Mineralization of the remaining teeth occurs

after birth in a fairly well defined sequence.
This is the basis of assessment of age by degree of dentition.

Methods of determination of age by tooth:
By the stage of dentition:
The age of an individual

can be estimated with fair accuracy
from 6 months to 20 years
from manner and sequence of eruption .
For age estimation from teeth,
it is necessary to know
 The difference between the two sets of teeth
 The time of their eruption
 The period when their root calcification is

complete
This can be ascertained on x ray

examination
Two sets of teeth are
Temporary( deciduous, milk) teeth

twenty in number 4 incisors, two canines
and 4 molars in each jaw.
Permanent teeth are 32 in number

incisors, two canines, 4 premolars
(Bicuspid)
6 molars (tricuspid) in each jaw.
Differences between
Temporary & Permanent teeth
Size :
small, light Heavier, stronger
Direction:
anterior teeth Usually inclined
vertical
Colour : china white in Ivory white colour
colour
Neck : more constricted not so
Root : smaller large
Cusps : few more
Temporary
Teeth
Name of the tooth Eruption Root calcification

completion
Lower central incisor 6 – 8 months 16 – 24 months
upper central incisor 7 - 9 months 16 – 24 months
Lateral incisor 9 – 10 months 16 – 24 months
1st temporary molar 10 – 12 months 24 – 30 months
Canine 17 - 18 months 30 – 36 months
2nd temporary molar 20 - 30 months 36 – 40 months
 Temporary dentition begins about the 6th month
completed by about 2 ½ yrs
 Average child should have 8 teeth at 1 year
 16 teeth at 1 ½ yrs
 20 teeth at 2 ½ yrs
 Temporary teeth begin to shed from the 6 to 7 years.
 After the eruption of the 1st molar behind the second

temporary molar tooth.
Permanent teeth :
 Replacing or Successional tooth:
Which replaces the corresponding or allied temporary
teeth.
 Superadded tooth:
Which cuts behind the second temporary molars
without replacing any temporary teeth.
 The time of eruption of teeth gives a good indication of

age up to 18 to 25 years.
 But there are variation depending upon dietetic,

hereditary, environmental and endocrine factors.
 In rickets eruption is delayed.
 In syphilis teeth may be present at birth.

 The incisors are chisel shaped, convex on
labial side, concave on lingual side.
 The canines are larger than incisors, crown is

large and conical. Tip projects beyond other
teeth
 Premolars bicuspid teeth, the chewing surface

has two cusps. Root is single.
 Molars are large, broad convex on labial and

lingual sides has 3-4 cusps.
 Each upper molar has 3 roots, lower molars

has 2 roots.
 The presence of four wisdom teeth usually
means that the subject has passed the age
of 17 - 18years.
 complete root calcification of the teeth takes

place with in 3 to 4 years of the date of
eruption.
 In both temporary and permanent ,dentition

is early in lower jaw.
 Teeth eruption in female is earlier than male

by one year.
 Male dental age and skeletal age

corresponds, but female skeletal age is one
year ahead of dental age.
 Eruption occurs earlier in warmer climates
and urban population.
 Dental x-rays help in status of un-erupted

teeth, degree of calcification of root or
impaction.
 Jaws grow posteriorly. 3rd molar erupts after

space formation.
 3rd molar may be absent, maybe impacted,

may be of late appearance in old age.
e h ind
p ac eb
S olar
M
2nd M2
M1
PM 2
PM 1
C
CI LI
Permanent
teeth
Root calcification
Name of tooth Eruption Start Completed
Age of mixed dentition
The period of mixed dentition presents till about 11 to 12 yrs
Age Temp.tooth Perm.tooth Total

Expression of the Dental Formula
PALMER’S NOTATION
54321 12345
54321 12345
87654321 12345678
___________________________
87654321 12345678
55 54 53 52 51 61 62 63 64 65
85 84 83 82 81 71 72 73 74 75
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
By secondary changes, including tooth
microscopy:
“Gustafson`s formula”
In which progressive age changes that an
adult individual tooth undergoes are taken into
account
These changes include.

 Attrition of tooth due to mastication
 Paradentosis ( level of attached gingivae)
 Secondary dentine Deposition in the pulp cavity
 Root resorption
 Translucency of root
 Cementum Deposition at the root.
 Attrition :
 Upper surface of the teeth is destroyed
gradually due to wear and tear.
 First involves enamel and then dentine, pulp.
 Paradentosis :
 regresstion of the gums.
 Paradental tissue take place around teeth as the
age advances gradually the rides and root is
exposed.
 Secondary dention:
 it may develop in the walls of the pulp cavity and
decreases the size of the pulp cavity.
 It extends downwards
Root Resorption:
Absorption of the Roots starts at the apex
and extends upwards.
 It involves cementum and dentine also
at the later ages.
Transparency of Root:
 It is seen after 30 years.
 The pulp is filled by minerals which
becomes invisible.
 And dentine becomes transparent
gradually- Most reliable criteria.
Cementum apposition:
 The cementum starts becoming thick due to

changes in the root absorption.
 Secondary cementum starts depositing gradually

and continuesly throught life and forms
incremental lines.
 Teeth are grinded to 1/4th of mm of both sides.

 Anterior teeth are more suitable.
 Orbitary 0 to 3 points are given to each
change.
 The total points are 0 to 18.
 The accuracy by this method can be + / -
5years
 Summary of different medico-Legal
importance of teeth:
 Identification of a individual
 Race
 Sex
 Age
 Occupational marks
 Blood groups
Individual features of teeth like gap,
total No. of teeth, missing teeth,
condition of crown, filling of cavity,
supernumerary of teeth,
artificial denture ornamentation
and
metallic decoration of teeth.
 Habit of a person like betel chewing
or tobacco habit.
 Teeth resist decomposition and well
preserved helps in identification.
 Dental data helps in mass disasters
where other feature un-recognizable
 Grievous hurt – Fracture or dislocation
of teeth.
 Poisoning – Heavy metals like, As, Pb,
Hg etc.
 Identity of offender can be established by
- Bite mark, saliva for detection of
blood group.
 Bite marks of teeth on breast, and
private parts - Rape.
 Artificial denture can cause choking.
 Blood from pulp of teeth can help in
identity by blood grouping and DNA
testing.
“If you wake up
at a different time,
in a different place,
could you wake up
as a different person?”
Chuck Palahniuk

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Identity & Age

Dr. L. Ananda kumar

25 Years & above :

The age of an individual is assessed by

 written consent of the person

 Name, age, sex, father’s name, address, occupation

 Date of examination, time / place

 Name of the police person

 General examination: height, weight, general built.

- changes at puberty: hair, genital organs, secondary

Weight : At birth 2 ½ to 3kgs

But these data not very reliable

15 yrs: pubic hair has moderate growth.

16 yrs: pubic hair is well grown, external

16-17yrs: Hair begins to appear on the face

pubic hair initially are sparse, soft, light colour

In males , the pubic hair extends upwards in

 axillary and pubic hair: gray at old age.

 Arcus senilis appear after 40 years, complete before 60 yrs

 Wrinkles on the face appear after 40 years.

 Cataract appears in old age.

 lipping of vertebra, changes in vertebra.

These signs as a whole, are not much reliable,

Hence, additional objective data based on dental and Radiological

Components of tooth consist of –

 The deciduous teeth commences mineralization

 By 28 weeks mineralization has commenced in

 The buccal cusp of 1st permanent molar begins to

 Mineralization of the remaining teeth occurs

This is the basis of assessment of age by degree of dentition.

The age of an individual

 The difference between the two sets of teeth

 The time of their eruption

 The period when their root calcification is

This can be ascertained on x ray

Temporary( deciduous, milk) teeth

Permanent teeth are 32 in number

Temporary & Permanent teeth

Name of the tooth Eruption Root calcification

 Average child should have 8 teeth at 1 year

 Temporary teeth begin to shed from the 6 to 7 years.

 After the eruption of the 1st molar behind the second

 The time of eruption of teeth gives a good indication of

 But there are variation depending upon dietetic,

 In rickets eruption is delayed.

 In syphilis teeth may be present at birth.

 The canines are larger than incisors, crown is

 Premolars bicuspid teeth, the chewing surface

 Molars are large, broad convex on labial and

 Each upper molar has 3 roots, lower molars

 complete root calcification of the teeth takes

 In both temporary and permanent ,dentition

 Teeth eruption in female is earlier than male

 Male dental age and skeletal age

 Dental x-rays help in status of un-erupted

 Jaws grow posteriorly. 3rd molar erupts after

 3rd molar may be absent, maybe impacted,

Age Temp.tooth Perm.tooth Total

These changes include.

 The cementum starts becoming thick due to

 Secondary cementum starts depositing gradually

 Teeth are grinded to 1/4th of mm of both sides.

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