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Age estimation combining radiographic information of two dental and four skeletal predictors in children and subadults

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Abstract

Improved age estimates may result from combining different age predictors. This study aimed to validate age estimation performances combining the radiographic development of teeth, cervical vertebrae, hand and wrist bones, skull, and mandible. The sampled consisted of 256 individuals aged between 4 and 20 years. Bayes’ rule with a multivariate continuation ratio model was applied for the distribution of the dental scores. The additional age information of the skeletal variables was assessed extending the dental model separately and combining the variables. The performances of all models were quantified and compared using mean error (ME), mean absolute error (MAE), and root mean squared error (RMSE). The best performance resulted combining all variables (ME − 0.04 for F and M; MAE 0.91 for F and 0.95 for M; RMSE 1.14 for F and 1.19 for M). To improve performances and minimize radiation doses, the combination of teeth and hand and wrist bones information is recommended.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Imaging and Pathology, Forensic Odontology, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 7, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Akiko Kumagai, Ademir Franco & Patrick Thevissen

  2. Department of Oral Health Sciences, Orthodontics, KU Leuven and Dentistry, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Guy Willems

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  1. Akiko Kumagai
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  4. Patrick Thevissen
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Correspondence to Patrick Thevissen.

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Ethical approval was provided by the Ethical Committee of the School of Dentistry at Iwate Medical University under reference no. 01237 according to the Declaration of Helsinki regarding human experimentation.

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Kumagai, A., Willems, G., Franco, A. et al. Age estimation combining radiographic information of two dental and four skeletal predictors in children and subadults. Int J Legal Med 132, 1769–1777 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-018-1910-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-018-1910-9

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