How old are you now? A new ageing method for nonadults based on dental wear

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to present a novel method of nonadult (ca. 1–19 years) age-at-death estimation using the dental wear of deciduous, mixed deciduous-permanent, and permanent dentitions, including the incisors, canines, premolars, and first and second molars. The stage-based method is derived from degrees of dental wear in known-age (n = 39) and estimated-age (n = 11) nonadults containing 951 teeth from the predominately 19th century cemetery of Middenbeemster, The Netherlands. The need for such a method is warranted in cases where dental development and/or eruption cannot be assessed for age-at-death estimation. As well, by establishing a baseline for normal age-related nonadult tooth wear, users may better document wear that could be due to extramasticatory behaviours. The regression analysis reveals a strong quadratic correlation—F(2, 47) = 555.1, p