Abstract
BackgroundThis study aimed to test the sensitivity and specificity of the third molar maturity index (I3M) cutoff value to discriminate between individuals above and below 18 years of age in an Egyptian sample.Material and methodsDigital images of 247 orthopantographs (97 boys and 150 girls) were evaluated. The cutoff value of I3M obtained from the results of Cameriere et al. (Int J Legal Med 122:493–497, 2008) was evaluated in both girls and boys.ResultsSensitivity (the proportion of individuals being 18 years of age or older) was 95% and 73% in boys and girls, respectively. Meanwhile, specificity (the proportion of individuals younger than 18) was 100% in boys and 97% in girls. The proportion of correctly classified boys was 97% while it was 59% in girls.ConclusionIt can be concluded that the third molar maturity index can discriminate between individuals who are 18 years and over and those under 18 with higher accuracy in boys.
Highlights
This study aimed to test the sensitivity and specificity of the third molar maturity index (I3M) cutoff value to discriminate between individuals above and below 18 years of age in an Egyptian sample
Assessment of the third molar maturity index (I3M) The left lower third molar was examined using the Third molar maturity index (I3M) index described in the study by Cameriere et al (2008) where if the apices of the third molar are completely closed, I3M = 0
The validity of I3M presenting the number of individuals who have I3M ≥ 0.08 and I3M < 0.08 and those who
Summary
This study aimed to test the sensitivity and specificity of the third molar maturity index (I3M) cutoff value to discriminate between individuals above and below 18 years of age in an Egyptian sample. The age of 18 is the age of legal responsibility. This is important especially with the increased illegal migration. Providing suitable legal procedures reflecting the transition from childhood to maturity and full criminal responsibility is an important issue in criminal justice (De Luca et al 2016). That is why forensic age estimation of living individuals is a very important tool to overcome deliberate falsification of age in medicolegal and criminal cases (Cameriere et al 2015; Gupta et al 2015)
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