THE DENTITION IN THE ASSESSMENT OF INDIVIDUAL AGE IN SKELETAL MATERIAL

Abstract

This chapter reviews the dentition in the assessment of individual age in skeletal material. Evidence of age may be deduced from the bones or the teeth, which tend to survive much longer than other parts of the skeleton, provide the sole basis for an age estimation. Most of the published work refers to the forensic aspects of this subject and shows that age can be assessed from the teeth during the period of tooth development that is up to about 18 years of age with a fairly high degree of accuracy. In assessing age from dentitions that are immature, use is commonly made of a chart prepared by Schour and Massler (1941), published in slightly modified form by the American Dental Association and reproduced in many textbooks. In recent years, there has been an accumulation of information about the progression of tooth growth by means of which revision of the chart could be undertaken. Little appears to be known about possible racial differences in the chronology of tooth development and tooth growth. Racial differences could, however, reasonably be expected to be of small degree because the times of tooth eruption, which are more affected than tooth growth by sex differences, hormonal disturbances, and dietary deficiencies show only relatively slight racial differences.