Dental age assessment in children and adolescents

Abstract

Dental age estimation is an important part of Forensic Odontology. Dental age is considered to be important as dental development and mineralization show less variability than other developmental features and has low variability in relation to chronological age. Dental development is more reliable as an indicator of biological maturity in children and less effected by nutritional and hormonal changes. UN convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and section 55 of the Borders Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 defined “Child” as a person under the age of 18 (eighteen) years. Indian Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 designates an individual who has not attained the age of 18 years as juvenile. Dental age estimation in children is required for various reasons viz. children of refugees who doesn’t possess proper birth certificates, asylum seeker, victims and suspects of crime, identification of mutilated bodies, criminal liability, child labor etc. This paper reviews the various methods to determine the dental age in children.