NCJ Number
203129
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 48 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2003 Pages: 1127-1132
Date Published
September 2003
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper describes five cases in which dental aging was used for identification of dead bodies in the absence of materials that could be used for any other identification techniques.
Abstract
For over a century, the field of odontology has known that the age of adults can be estimated from changes within the hard tissues of their teeth. Although there are numerous techniques for determining dental aging, a recent study has found that the Bang and Ramm (BR) technique is the simplest and also yields the smallest error rate. The BR technique is based upon the phenomenon of translucent dentine development within the root of the tooth. It is well accepted that the amount of translucent dentine increases with age, with an expansion of translucency from the apical portion of the tooth to the coronal. The BR technique is used with extracted teeth that can either be assessed for translucency whole or sectioned. Studies have shown, however, that the error rate for determining aging with whole teeth is higher than with sectioned teeth. All of the equipment required for execution of the BR technique is likely to be accessible to most forensic odontologists or is inexpensive to purchase. The equipment used by the author is described, as is the BR technique used in the five cases. After describing the cases, the paper concludes that the BR aging technique is simple to implement and produces useful results. Further, it can help determine the age range of a body otherwise unidentifiable. The author cautions that the use of an aging technique cannot, by itself, be used to positively identify an individual; however, it can assist the medical examiner in making a decision from among alternative possibilities. 3 figures, 3 tables, and 16 references