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Application of the method of Kvaal et al. to digital orthopantomograms

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Abstract

Estimation of age in individuals has received considerable attention in the forensic literature. The reduction of size of dental pulp cavity as a result of secondary dentin deposit with increasing age could be used as an indicator of age. This regression change, apart from morphological techniques, can also be analysed by radiological techniques. In 1995, Kvaal et al. reported a new method for estimating the chronological age of adults based on the relationship between age and the pulp size on periapical dental radiographs. In 2005, Paewinsky et al. reported specific regression formulae for dental age calculation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the reproducibility of the original method of Kvaal et al. on digital panoramic radiographs as well as to analyse the application of age-estimation formulae reported in the literature. Orthopantomograms (OPGs) of 100 patients aged between 14 and 60 years old from a private radiology department in Bilbao were selected at random. According to the reported technique, three mandibular teeth were evaluated in each orthopantomogram. The results showed that the method reported by Kvaal at al. cannot be applied to direct digital OPGs. The values of age estimation obtained using regression formulae analysed on digital images were so distant from the real ages that this method must be discouraged as being a reliable one to estimate age on a direct digital OPGs sample.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank to Dra. Elena Lángara for her kind collaboration and Dr. Arsenio Martínez and the staff of Preteimagen radiology department in Bilbao who generously provided the digital radiographs used for this research.

A continuation of this paper entitled “Application of the Kvaal’s method on digital orthopantomograms” has been previously presented during the 2008 Annual Meeting of the AGFAD (Berlin, March 14th, 2008).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bizkaia Division, Forensic Clinical Department, Basque Institute of Legal Medicine, C/ Buenos Aires, 6, 48001, Bilbao, Spain

    M. I. Landa

  2. Forensic Pathology Department, Institute of Legal Medicine from Huelva, Huelva, Spain

    P. M. Garamendi

  3. Laboratory of Anthropology, Medicine Faculty, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    M. C. Botella & I. Alemán

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  1. M. I. Landa
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  2. P. M. Garamendi
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  3. M. C. Botella
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  4. I. Alemán
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Correspondence to M. I. Landa.

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Landa, M.I., Garamendi, P.M., Botella, M.C. et al. Application of the method of Kvaal et al. to digital orthopantomograms. Int J Legal Med 123, 123–128 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-008-0268-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-008-0268-9

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