, Egypt, Cairo University, 2013.
Background & Objectives: Bioanthropological research must be built upon a
foundation of accurate age and sex estimates. Age and sex estimation from dental
radiographs is a non-destructive, simple method to obtain information. The
objectives of the present dissertation were to analyze six dental age and sex
estimation methods regarding their comparative validity and practical
implementation using 600 digital orthopantograms. Furthermore, a purpose of the
investigation was to supplement the literature with data on dental age and sex
estimation in Egyptians and Tunisians individuals. Methods: The
orthopantomograms were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria set
forth for the study. Aging and sexing of modern Egyptian and Tunisian
populations as follows: Sex assessment using discriminant Function analysis of
mandibular measurements, mandibular ramus flexure and of mandibular canine
index, The estimated gender was then compared with the known gender and
percentage accuracy of determination was calculated, while age was assessed
using orthopantomographic indices of the pulp of mandibular canine namely
coronal pulp cavity index, pulp-tooth area index and linear measurement of the
pulp cavity. Results: The results showed that the mandibular ramus flexure,
mandibular canine index and discriminant function analysis for sex determination
among the study populations using digital orthopantomogrms can be used to
diagnose sex with an average accuracy up to 86%. Similarly the pulp tooth area,
the coronal pulp cavity index and linear measurement of pulp were used for age
estimation using mandibular canines, statistically significant correlation between
age and the study variables was revealed. This work revealed no significant
difference between chronological and estimated ages. Different equations for age
estimation in the resent research yielded an error of age estimation about 2.5 years
as a mean value for both the Egyptians and Tunisians which is much lower than
most that of anthropological methods.
Best Theses Awards, Cairo University (BTACU)
Information System Unit - 62 -
Moreover, it was shown that a combination of variables potentially leads to
increases of the predictive power beyond the capabilities of each method alone for
both age and sex estimation. A new function for sex determination for the
Egyptians and Tunisian was derived as population specific method for sex
determination that yielded a more accurate sex estimate. Conclusion:
Consequently, it was concluded that, this research showed promising results for
dental age and sex estimation in a non-invasive manner using dental digital
orthopantomograms of Egyptian and Tunisians populations. Moreover,
population-specific equations were introduced to enhance the accuracy of the
estimates. Future research should aim at acquiring larger sample sizes, in order to
reduce standard errors of age and sex estimation, and studying the effect of race,
culture and pathology on model parameters. Also the application of the proposed
methods in forensic and archeological contexts.