Marija Antunovic1, Ivan Galic2, Ksenija Zelic3, Nenad Nedeljkovic4, Emira Lazic4, Marija Djuric5, Roberto Cameriere6. 1. University of Montenegro, Medical Faculty, Clinical Centre of Montenegro, Ljubljanska bb, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro. 2. University of Split, School of Medicine, Spinčićeva 2, 21000 Split, Croatia. 3. University of Belgrade School of Medicine, Laboratory for Anthropology, Institute of Anatomy, Dr Subotica 4, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: ksenijazelic@gmail.com. 4. University of Belgrade School of Dentistry, Clinic for Orthodontics, GastonaGravijea 2, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. 5. University of Belgrade School of Medicine, Laboratory for Anthropology, Institute of Anatomy, Dr Subotica 4, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. 6. AgEstimation Project, University of Macerata, Macerata, Italy.
Abstract
AIM: From a medico-legal and penalty point of view, it is essential to conclude if an individual is a minor or an adult (18 years of age). Methods based on the third molar development have been used for this purpose. The present article aims to verify the Nolla's stages of mineralization of the third molars and a third molar maturity index (I3M) which is based on the measures of the projections of open apices normalized by their height in the sample of Montenegrins. METHOD AND SAMPLE: The sample consisted of 683 panoramic radiographs (324 males and 359 females) between 13 and 24 years of age. The specific mineralization stages of Nolla and the cut-off value of I3M < 0.08 was used to discriminate adults and minors. RESULTS: The best performance in discriminating adults and minors was for I3M < 0.08 followed by the Nolla stage 9. For I3M < 0.08 the results demonstrated high sensitivity of 0.92 and 0.82 and specificity of 0.94 and 0.96 in males and females, respectively. The proportions of correctly classified individuals were 0.93 in males and 0.89 in females. The Nolla stage 9 demonstrated the sensitivity of 0.95 and 0.85 and the specificity of 0.84 and 0.90 in males and females, respectively. The proportions of correctly classified individuals were 0.90 in males and 0.87 in females. CONCLUSION: The suggested value of I3M < 0.08 followed by Nolla stage 9 can be used to discriminate adults from minors with high specificity.
AIM: From a medico-legal and penalty point of view, it is essential to conclude if an individual is a minor or an adult (18 years of age). Methods based on the third molar development have been used for this purpose. The present article aims to verify the Nolla's stages of mineralization of the third molars and a third molar maturity index (I3M) which is based on the measures of the projections of open apices normalized by their height in the sample of Montenegrins. METHOD AND SAMPLE: The sample consisted of 683 panoramic radiographs (324 males and 359 females) between 13 and 24 years of age. The specific mineralization stages of Nolla and the cut-off value of I3M < 0.08 was used to discriminate adults and minors. RESULTS: The best performance in discriminating adults and minors was for I3M < 0.08 followed by the Nolla stage 9. For I3M < 0.08 the results demonstrated high sensitivity of 0.92 and 0.82 and specificity of 0.94 and 0.96 in males and females, respectively. The proportions of correctly classified individuals were 0.93 in males and 0.89 in females. The Nolla stage 9 demonstrated the sensitivity of 0.95 and 0.85 and the specificity of 0.84 and 0.90 in males and females, respectively. The proportions of correctly classified individuals were 0.90 in males and 0.87 in females. CONCLUSION: The suggested value of I3M < 0.08 followed by Nolla stage 9 can be used to discriminate adults from minors with high specificity.
Authors: Hugo Gaêta-Araujo; N Oliveira-Santos; E H L Nascimento; F Nogueira-Reis; A C Oenning; F C Groppo; C Oliveira-Santos Journal: Int J Legal Med Date: 2020-08-25 Impact factor: 2.686