The application of computerized tomography (CT) to the dental ageing of children and adolescents

Jeremy Peter Graham, Chris J O'Donnell, P J G Craig, G L Walker, Anthony J Hill, G N Cirillo, Robert Malcolm Clark, Samuel R Gledhill, Michal Elisabeth Schneider-Kolsky

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Following a mass disaster, the aim of the Disaster Victim Identification process is to establish the identity of the victims. The ageing screening process on victims in Victoria may now be complemented with the use of computerized tomography (CT), where previously any dental ageing analysis was performed using conventional radiographs. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of age estimation using the dental ageing method proposed by Moorrees, Fanning and Hunt (MFH) using CT images. Intra- and inter-rater variability between two raters, one experienced and one inexperienced, was also assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The two raters were blinded to the ages of 96 deceased Australian children aged up to 15 years. Using three-dimensional (3D) shaded surface displays (SSD) and reformatted CT images, the age was first estimated based on prior experience alone, followed at a later date by the age estimation utilizing the MFH method. These estimates were then compared to the known chronological age. The results were statistically analyzed in a one-sample t-test, using the mean log-ratio of the estimated age to the chronological age. RESULTS: Our findings show that the experienced rater was more accurate in age estimation than the less experienced when using prior experience (p
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)58 - 62
Number of pages4
JournalForensic Science International
Volume195
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010

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