Olze A, Reisinger W, Geserick G, Schmeling A
Institute of Legal Medicine, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Hittorfstr. 18, D-14195 Berlin, Germany.
Forensic Sci Int. 2006 May 15;159 Suppl 1:S65-7. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2006.02.018. Epub 2006 Mar 9.
Recent years have brought a worldwide increase in cross-border migration due to a globalized economy and ongoing belligerent conflicts. As a result, the percentage of foreigners among the general population has steadily increased not only in Germany, but also in other countries. This trend has triggered a growing demand for forensic medicine to assess the age of adolescents and young adults. The individuals examined here are unaccompanied minors without valid identification documents who do not know their age or else are suspected of not giving their correct age. The mineralization of third molars is the main criterion for dental age estimation of living subjects in the relevant age group. To date insufficient knowledge has been obtained about how ethnic origin can influence tooth mineralization. This, however, constitutes a restraint on the reliability of age estimates and hence on the forensic value of information essential to legal security. A comparative study was conducted to present comparative data on third molar mineralization in a Caucasoid, Mongoloid and African sample. In conclusion, forensic age estimates of living subjects would be more powerful tools if population-specific standards were applied to evaluations of wisdom tooth mineralization. Since the mineralization of third molars is usually completed by the age of 19 or 20 years, this feature cannot be used to ascertain whether a person has attained the forensically relevant age of 21 years. The question was whether determination based on an orthopantomogram of a combination of features relevant to dental age estimation of adults supplies forensically useful information for ascertaining whether a person has attained 21 years of age. The features considered include the DMFT index of all permanent teeth, the DMFT index of all permanent teeth excluding third molars and the DFT index of third molars projecting beyond the occlusal plane. It can be concluded that an evaluation of the variations of the DMFT index does not by itself yield sufficient data to determine with the accuracy required in criminal proceedings whether a person has attained 21 years of age. An additional X-ray examination of the medial clavicular epiphyseal cartilage is, therefore, strongly recommended when assessing whether a person is over 21.
近年来，由于经济全球化和持续不断的冲突，全球跨境移民数量有所增加。因此，不仅在德国，在其他国家普通人群中外国人的比例也在稳步上升。这一趋势引发了对法医学评估青少年和青年年龄需求的增长。在此接受检查的个体是无人陪伴的未成年人，他们没有有效身份证件，不知道自己的年龄，或者被怀疑没有提供正确年龄。第三磨牙的矿化是相关年龄组活体牙龄估计的主要标准。迄今为止，关于种族起源如何影响牙齿矿化的知识还不够充分。然而，这对年龄估计的可靠性构成了限制，从而也影响了对法律安全至关重要的信息的法医价值。进行了一项比较研究，以呈现高加索人种、蒙古人种和非洲人种样本中第三磨牙矿化的比较数据。总之，如果在评估智齿矿化时应用针对特定人群的标准，活体对象的法医年龄估计将成为更有力的工具。由于第三磨牙的矿化通常在19或20岁时完成，因此这一特征无法用于确定一个人是否已达到法医相关的21岁年龄。问题在于，基于成人牙龄估计相关特征组合的曲面断层片进行的判断，是否能为确定一个人是否已年满21岁提供法医有用信息。所考虑的特征包括所有恒牙的龋失补指数（DMFT指数）、不包括第三磨牙的所有恒牙的龋失补指数以及超出咬合平面的第三磨牙的龋失指数（DFT指数）。可以得出结论，对DMFT指数变化的评估本身并不能产生足够的数据，以刑事诉讼所需的准确性来确定一个人是否已年满21岁。因此，在评估一个人是否超过21岁时，强烈建议额外进行锁骨内侧骨骺软骨的X线检查。
