Age estimation from fetus and infant tooth and head measurements

Abstract

Forensic identification comprises legal, social, ethical, and religious aspects where age detection is an important factor. When the case is a fetus or infant, recording various measurements of the body, head, and teeth is essential. The aim of this research is to evaluate the effects of different tooth and body measurements and their implications on the age estimation of fetuses and infants. This research was performed on 96 fetus and infant incisor teeth taken from 24 autopsy cases (54 % males and 46 % females) where age of the subjects were within the range of prenatal 16 weeks to postnatal 72 weeks. The data were statistically processed by regression analysis via curve estimations. According to the results, growing patterns of the head circumference (HC) and the upper central tooth measurements indicate a strong relationship, where there is no significant difference for both sexes. The growth patterns of all variables showed a linear function to a certain age (approximately 56 weeks pre-plus postnatal); the tooth height (TH) slightly increases until the closure of the root apex, and the HC gradually stabilizes in time, therefore a log-linear relation was found considerable. The results revealed eight age estimation formulas, including the combination of HC with the labiolingual, mesiodistal (MD), crown height, and TH measurements. Among these, only MD can be applied to a living. In conclusion, tooth and head measurements are found to be the main factors of age estimation formulas.