Age estimation by Drusini's method and Jeon's method in Indian population - A comparative assessment

Area of Science:

• Forensic Odontology
• Anthropology
• Radiology

Background:

• Forensic odontology extensively researches age estimation procedures using teeth as biological markers.
• Established adult age estimation methods include cementum annulations, root transparency, and aspartic acid racemization.
• Reliability of existing age estimation methods for the Indian population requires further study.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess and compare Drusini's and Jeon's methods for age estimation in Indian adults.
• To correlate chronological age with age estimations derived from both methods.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 200 intraoral periapical radiovisuographs of permanent mandibular first molars (age 20-69).
• Applied Drusini's and Jeon's methods for age estimation.
• Compared estimated ages with chronological ages using statistical analysis (ANOVA, Tukey's post hoc, t-test).

Main Results:

• Mean chronological age was 30.77 ± 9.32 years.
• Mean age estimated by Jeon's method was 29.790 ± 7.729 years.
• Mean age estimated by Drusini's method was 27.885 ± 8.190 years, showing a statistically significant difference.
• Jeon's method demonstrated a strong positive correlation with chronological age.

Conclusions:

• Jeon's method is more accurate for age estimation in the Indian population compared to Drusini's method.
• The findings support the use of Jeon's method for forensic age estimation in Indian adults.
• Further research is recommended to validate these findings across diverse Indian demographics.