Age estimation is an important aspect in medico-legal practice. The need for age estimation has some important reasons in certain specific age groups in Indian context: Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay 12 years old: Children under this age are not responsible for some crimes; 14 years: a child under the age of 14 cannot be employed; 18 years: determines the age of majority and the legally permissible age for marriage in women; 21: The legally permitted age for marriage in males. In 1973, Demirijian et al, introduced the age estimation method based on the radiological appearance of the 7 teeth on the left side of the mandible. The Demirijian method is widely used to estimate chronological age due to its simplicity, reproducibility, and ease of standardization. The age estimate is based on the developmental stages of the teeth, taking into account the associated calcification process. Furthermore, tooth maturation is a better indicator of dental age than tooth eruption which is influenced by various exogenous factors such as infection, extraction, crowding and ankylosis. Demirjian's original method excluded the third molar due to variability in its development, eruption, and anatomy. . 4 However, the pitfall of its exclusion was that age prediction with the original Demirjian method is not feasible after approximately 16 years of age, since at this age all permanent teeth, except the third molar, would have completed their development . Therefore, the third molar offers the only reliable radiological parameter for determining age in the age range of 16 to 23 years. 5In a study conducted by Mincer et al., it was concluded that the third molar can provide reasonable accuracy for predicting that a person is at least 18 years old, rather than providing the exact chronological age, due to the absence of any other markers in late adolescence. Chaillet and Demirjian modified their method to incorporate the third molar and developed a new maturity score based on a French population. Another important modification made in this study was the modification of the tooth stages to include two additional stages of tooth non-formation (Stage “0”) and crypt development (Stage “1”); furthermore, the developmental stage was assigned numbers which were designated as 0-9 for easier calculation and developed a multiple regression formula based on the cubic function which provided better reliability when the third molar was incorporated into the study . 6 In the present study, the modified Demirijian method showed a positive correlation between the mean chronological age (16.1224 + 1.6025 years) and dental age (15.2112 + 2.2654 years), although it was observed that the The chronological age of males (16.3333 ± 1.41421 years) is slightly higher than that of females (16,000 ± 1.71270 years). Indian studies have shown overestimates ranging from 2 months to over 3 years.7,8 A meta-analysis of 12 studies by Jayaraman et al., using the Demirjian method, found an average overestimation of patient age by more than 6 months and suggested that this dataset should be used with caution in global populations.9 Consequently, adapting the method to the local population was considered essential for optimal age prediction. Genetic influences, socioeconomic status, nutritional conditions, and dietary habits have been reported as possible reasons for variations in skeletal and dental maturity between different populations and ethnic groups, and different groups within the same population..
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