An assessment and comparison of third molar development in relation to chronological age in a Western Australian and a South Indian population

[Truncated abstract] In a forensic investigation the estimation of age at death is an important step towards the identification of unknown human skeletal remains. An accurate estimation of age will significantly narrow the field of possible matching identities. In order to achieve this, there are many skeletal methods available to the forensic odontologist and anthropologist, including assessment of skeletal and dental maturation (in the juvenile age range). However, the rate of skeletal maturation can be affected by environmental factors that include poor nutrition and illness. Dental development, however, is under strict genetic control and is strongly correlated to chronological age. This makes teeth a reliable age marker for assessment in forensic investigations. There are many published methods for evaluating and quantifying dental maturation in order to estimate personal age. One of the more widely applied methods was first described in 1973 by Demirjian and Goldstein, who studied French-Canadian children. The present study applies a modification of that method to statistically quantify the timing of third molar mineralization in a Western Australian and South Indian population. The primary aim is to evaluate how accurately age can be estimated using the third molars, to assess ethnic differences in mineralization rates, and to formulate population specific standards for age estimation using this tooth. Comparisons between sexes, upper and lower arches and side differences (within and between populations) are made to provide statistically usable reference data of mineralization rates in the third molars specific to Western Australia and South India. In addition, the degree of third molar agenesis is assessed in both populations...