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Postmortem computed tomography age assessment of juvenile dentition: comparison against traditional OPT assessment

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Abstract

Age estimation is one of the primary demographic features used in the identification of juvenile remains. Determining the accuracy and repeatability of age estimations based on postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) data compared with those using conventional orthopantomography (OPT) images is important to validate the use of PMCT as a single imaging technique in forensic and disaster victim identification (DVI). In this study, 19 juvenile mandibles and maxilla of known age underwent both OPT and PMCT. Three raters then estimated dental age using the resulting images and 3D reconstructions. This assessment showed excellent agreement between the age estimations using the two techniques for all three observers. PMCT also offers a greater range of measurements for both the dentition and the whole human skeleton using a single image acquisition and therefore has the potential to improve both the speed and accuracy of age estimation.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. East Midlands Forensic Pathology Unit, University of Leicester, Robert Kilpatrick Building, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester, LE2 7LX, UK

    Alison L. Brough & Guy N. Rutty

  2. Imaging Department, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester, LE2 7LX, UK

    Bruno Morgan

  3. Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK

    Sue Black

  4. Powys Teaching Health Board, Powys, LD3 0LU, UK

    Catherine Adams

Authors
  1. Alison L. Brough
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  2. Bruno Morgan
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  3. Sue Black
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  4. Catherine Adams
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  5. Guy N. Rutty
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alison L. Brough.

Additional information

Bruno Morgan and Guy Rutty contributed equally to this publication.

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Brough, A.L., Morgan, B., Black, S. et al. Postmortem computed tomography age assessment of juvenile dentition: comparison against traditional OPT assessment. Int J Legal Med 128, 653–658 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-013-0952-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-013-0952-2

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