Third molar maturity index by measurements of open apices in a Libyan sample of living subjects.
In most countries, forensic age estimation in living subjects has become increasingly important in the last few years. In addition, as the age of legal majority ranges from 14 to 18 in many countries, and in Libya it is 18 years, radiographic assessment of the degree of third molar development is essential for forensic age estimation of adolescents and young adults. The aim of this paper is to assess the accuracy of the cut-off value of 0.08, by measurements of third molar index (I3M), in determining if a subject is adult or not in Libyan population. Digital panoramic radiographs of 307 healthy subjects (163 girls, 144 boys), aged between 14 and 22, were analysed. The I3M,the age and the sex of the subjects were used as predictive variable for age estimation. Using a cut-off of 0.08, the sensitivity of the test for boys was 90.9% and the specificity 100%. The proportion of correctly classified individuals was 95.1% (95% CI: 91.5-98.7%). The sensitivity for girls was 90.6% and the specificity 100%. The proportion of correctly classified individuals was 94.5% (95% CI: 90.9-98.1%). Estimated post-test probability in boys and girls was 100%. Further analyses, performed using a cut-off of 0.09, do not affect the specificity (100%) while they improve the sensitivity for both boys and girls.
Department of Biological Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield, United Kingdom.
Ashref Ali Khalifa
AAK
Dardouri
AgEstimation Project, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Macerata, Macerata, Italy.
Roberto
R
Cameriere
Departamento de Antropología, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile.
Stefano
S
De Luca
Department of Biological Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield, United Kingdom. Electronic address: stefano.vanin@hud.ac.uk.
Stefano
S
Vanin
D000293:Adolescent; D000366:Age Determination by Teeth; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008002:Libya; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D008964:Molar, Third / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development*; D019252:Radiography, Dental, Digital; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019227:Tooth Apex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development*; D055815:Young Adult
Age estimation; Forensic anthropology population data; Forensic sciences; Maturity; Mediterranean; Third molar index