Jornal de pesquisa forense

Enamel Shade: A Bright Future in Age Estimation

Abstract

Rashmi Metgud, Payal and Smitha Naik

Teeth are useful indicators of age-at-death and non-destructive methods ensure preservation of dental evidentiary material which could be used for court presentation.

Aims and objectives: To evaluate correlation between the enamel color and chronological age. To estimate the age of an individual from enamel color.

Material and methods: A total of 150 subjects were studied which were divided into five groups based on age (age range 15-69 years) with 30 in each group. The enamel color was evaluated using a VITA classical shade guide.

Results: Present study reveals that younger age has reddish-yellow hue; middle age has yellowish hue, older age has yellow to greyish hue. The enamel color was found to be associated with chronological age.

Conclusion: Identification of individual age with no birth record can be done using enamel color. Further advance in enamel shade for age estimation with increased sample size would enhance the knowledge and improve the accuracy of methods used in the field of forensic odontology.