Estimation of age from the teeth of unidentified corpses using the amino acid racemization method with reference to...

We report the results of a study for estimating the age of unidentified corpses from teeth using the amino acid racemization method. By calculating the ratio of D-aspartic acid to L-aspartic acid (referred to as the D/L ratio), we studied samples from 24 corpses of known identity. The results showed that the approach yielded satisfactory age estimates with an accuracy of +/- 3 years. Detailed examination of these results indicated that powdered dentin produced more favorable results than fragmented dentin. No differences in the estimated age related to cause of death were noted. However, better results were obtained with a larger number of control teeth and a higher correlation coefficient between the D/L ratio and the actual age of the control teeth. In terms of age and estimation accuracy, corpses of individuals > 40 years of age generally gave more satisfactory results than those of younger individuals. It was also reconfirmed that preparation of control teeth is required each time an age estimate is performed.