The applicability of the Nicodemo, Moraes and Médici Filho’s method (1974) for age estimation among children, adolescents and young adults

a systematic review

Abstract

Objective: It was evaluated the applicability of the Table of Permanent Teeth Mineralization among Brazilians for age estimation with forensic purposes. Method: The PRISMA guidelines (Preferred Report of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) were used for study design, and bibliographical searches were performed in the databases: Web of Science, Pubmed, Scopus, Cochrane, LILACS and SIGLE, according to PICO/PECO strategy. Results: A total of 10,280 records were retrieved from the databases, of which 20 articles were selected for full-text analysis after preliminary screening. Five articles plus one additional article selected by manual search were included in the final review, totaling six articles. The selected studies presented a cross-sectional design, five of which were developed in Brazil and two abroad. The assessment of methodological quality, performed with the use of QUADAS adapted by Lopes (2012), indicated that all six studies met more than 50% of the quality requirements and one of them met all the requirements. To compare the estimated and actual chronological age, four studies utilized correlation analysis while two employed descriptive statistics. The findings revealed discrepancy between the estimated age and the actual chronological age, which led the majority of authors to advocate a moderate use of the method as well as to indicate the use of correction factors for specific populations and its association with other age estimation methods. Conclusion: the existing evidence on the applicability of the Nicodemo, Moraes and Médici Filho’s method (1974) for age estimation with forensic purposes is moderate, given the scarcity of studies and methodological heterogeneity between them.