ESTIMATION OF AGE FROM

DEVELOPMENT AND
ERUPTION OF TEETH

BY DR. ANNALIZA T. ARAOJO

 OUTLINE

• HISTORY
• FACTS ABOUT AGE ESTIMATION
• STAGES OF TOOTH ERUPTION
• TOOTH ERUPTION CHART
• DENTAL CERTIFICATE
HISTORY

• THE USE OF TEETH FOR DETERMINING SOMEONE'S AGE HAS ITS

ORIGIN 170 YEARS AGO WHEN TOOTH ERUPTION WAS FIRST USED
FOR DENTAL AGE ESTIMATION IN CONNECTION WITH CHILD LABOR.

• IN ANCIENT TIMES, AGE ESTIMATION OF LIVING ADOLESCENTS WERE

CONSIDERED IMPORTANT. ACCORDING TO RECORDS IN ANCIENT
ROME ADOLESCENTS WERE JUDGED TO BE FIT FOR SERVICE, AS
SOON AS THE SECOND MOLARS HAD ERUPTED COMPLETELY. IT WAS
MAINLY DENTISTS WHO HAD TO CARRY OUT AGE ESTIMATIONS.

This Photo by Unknown

HISTORY
• THE DENTAL SYSTEM IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE HUMAN BODY,
ITS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT CAN BE STUDIED IN PARALLEL
WITH OTHER PHYSIOLOGICAL MATURITY INDICATORS SUCH AS
BONE AGE, MENARCHE AND HEIGHT.

• SEVERAL AUTHORS HAVE SHOWN THAT DENTAL PARAMETERS ARE

MORE SUITABLE FOR AGE ESTIMATION IN CHILDREN BECAUSE THE
VARIABILITY IS LOWER SINCE CALCIFICATION RATES OF TEETH ARE
MORE CONTROLLED BY GENES THAN BY ENVIRONMENTAL
FACTORS.
FACTS ABOUT
TEETH AND
AGE
ESTIMATION
• ESTIMATION OF AGE AT DEATH AND DETERMINATION OF SEX OF THE
VICTIM OR REMAINS ARE IMPORTANT FACTORS IN THE IDENTIFICATION OF
AN INDIVIDUAL IN FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY.

• TEETH ARE AMONG THE MOST RELIABLE TOOLS IN THE PROCESS OF

IDENTIFICATION OF AGE. TEETH ARE ONE OF THE MOST DURABLE PARTS
OF OUR BODY, WHICH CAN WITHSTAND MORE ASSAULTS THAN ANY OTHER
PART OF THE BODY. THIS IS PARTICULARLY USEFUL IN THE IDENTIFICATION
OF BODIES IN MASS DISASTERS AND NATURAL CALAMITIES.[1]
FACTS ABOUT
TEETH AND AGE
ESTIMATION
• THE DEVELOPING DENTITION IS USED TO ASSESS MATURITY AND
ESTIMATE THE AGE IN MANY DISCIPLINES INCLUDING ANTHROPOLOGY,
ARCHEOLOGY, FORENSIC SCIENCE, PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY AND
ORTHODONTICS.

• THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT DENTAL DEVELOPMENT IS LESS EFFECTED

THAN SKELETAL DEVELOPMENT BY MALNUTRITION AND HORMONAL
DISORDERS.

• TOOTH FORMATION IS THE BEST CHOICE FOR ESTIMATING THE AGE AS

VARIATIONS ARE LESS AS COMPARED TO OTHER DEVELOPMENT
FACTORS.
REFERENCE: PMCID: PMC4130020 (FORENSIC DENTAL MEDICINE 2017)
PMID: 25125911
FACTS ABOUT TEETH

• ASSESSMENT OF AGE OF AN INDIVIDUAL BY

EXAMINATION OF TEETH IS ONE OF THE ACCEPTED
METHODS OF AGE DETERMINATION IN LIVE PATIENTS

• TEETH ARE KNOWN TO AID IN PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

AND AGE ESTIMATION AS THEY ARE HIGHLY DURABLE
AND RESIST PUTREFACTION, FIRE, CHEMICALS ETC. IN
FORENSIC SCIENCE
FACTS

• TEETH HAD BEEN USED IN THE IDENTIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS

THROUGHOUT HISTORY. IT IS MORE SIGNIFICANT IN THE PRESENT
DAY WORLD TO IDENTIFY MISSING, DEAD, MURDERED, OR KILLED
PERSONS IN ACCIDENTS. THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE CORPSES,
MUTILATED BODIES, IS OF IMPORTANCE FROM SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL,
AND MEDICO-LEGAL ASPECTS.

• AGE ESTIMATION CAN BE BETTER UNDERSTOOD BY THE STAGES OF

ERUPTION OF THE TEETH.
MIXED DENTITION PERIOD
STAGES OF TOOTH ERUPTION
CHART
CHART ON THE SEQUENCE
OF ERUPTION
 PLEASE REMEMBER

• TEETH ARE AMONG THE MOST RELIABLE TOOLS IN THE PROCESS

OF IDENTIFICATION OF AGE. TEETH ARE ONE OF THE MOST
DURABLE PARTS OF OUR BODY, WHICH CAN WITHSTAND MORE
ASSAULTS THAN ANY OTHER PART OF THE BODY;
• THE DEVELOPING DENTITION IS USED TO ASSESS MATURITY AND
ESTIMATE THE AGE IN MANY DISCIPLINES INCLUDING
ANTHROPOLOGY, ARCHEOLOGY, FORENSIC SCIENCE, PEDIATRIC
DENTISTRY AND ORTHODONTICS
• AGE ESTIMATION IN THE LIVING IS NON INVASIVE AND COST
EFFECTIVE IT ONLY NEEDS EXPERTS FOR THE RIGHT RESULTS
 CONCLUSION

• IF ONE IS IN DOUBT OF THE FINDINGS PLEASE REFER TO

A SPECIALIST;

• THE MOST RELIABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION

REGARDING THE TEETH ARE THE DENTISTS AND THE
MOST RELIABLE BODY IS THE PHILIPPINE DENTAL
ASSOCIATION
 DENTAL CERTIFICATE

DENTAL CERTIFICATE.XL
SX
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS!