title: Studies on age estimation using racemization of aspartic acid in cementum.
abstract: An attempt was made to estimate the age of cementum using the racemization method, which focuses on the ratio of D- and L-aspartic acids (referred to as the 'D/L ratio'). Using the whole cementum, the correlation coefficients between the D/L ratio and age were r = 0.984 to 0.997. When the use of incisors and premolars was compared, the former gave better results than the latter. We then made a comparison of cementum, enamel and dentin, using a first premolar from the same individual. For each component tissue the correlation of D/L ratio with the actual age was calculated and the highest value was shown for dentin at r = 0.992, followed by cementum at r = 0.988 and enamel at r = 0.961. These results show that the racemization reaction in cementum proceeds at a constant rate, and confirm that cementum, like dentin, is a tissue with very low metabolism. Therefore, it is clear that accurate estimation of age is practically possible using the amino acid racemization method for cementum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Kanagawa Dental College, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohtani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000366:Age Determination by Teeth; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D003739:Dental Cementum / Q000737:chemistry*; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000737:chemistry; D003804:Dentin / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D019998:Racemases and Epimerases
chemical_list: D001224:Aspartic Acid; D019998:Racemases and Epimerases