A Comparison of Demirjian's Four Dental Development Methods for Forensic Age Assessment*

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the comparative accuracy of Demirjian's four dental development methods for forensic age estimation in the Western Australian population. A sample comprising 143 individuals aged 4.6 to 14.5years were assessed using Demirjian's four methods for dental development (original 7-tooth: M 2, M 1, PM 2, PM 1, C, I 2, and I 1; revised 7-tooth: M 2, M 1, PM 2, PM 1, C, I 2, and I 1; 4-tooth: M 2, M 1, PM 2, and PM 1; and an alternate 4-tooth: M 2, PM 2, PM 1, and I 1). When comparing all four methods, the 4-tooth method overestimated age in both males and females by 0.04 and 0.25 years, respectively. The original 7-tooth was least accurate for males, while the original 7-tooth, the revised 7-tooth, and the alternate 4-tooth were unsuitable for females. Therefore, we recommend the 4-tooth method to be used for forensic age estimation in Western Australian males and females, as it has the lowest overall mean deviation and the highest accuracy. © 2011 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.