ABSTRACT
Identity and legal culpability hinges on age estimation in modern society. There are several biometric methods for accurate age determination that have validity in medico-legal proceedings globally. The accuracy of conventional methods should be reassessed periodically to ascertain validity in differing global societies. This study aims to evaluate the comparative accuracy of three age determination methods based on non-invasive radiographic odontometric data when applied to a sample of Saudi population. MethodsThis cross-sectional study is done on 350 subjects of Saudi Arabian population, aged between 4 and 16 years. The same set of radiographs is used in all three methods and the dental age estimation is done by trained examiners who determine the age using Demirjian’s, Willem’s and the London Atlas Method. Statistical analysis is done using the IBM SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) software (version 19). Significance of differences between the chronological age and the estimated dental age was calculated using paired ‘t’ test (P value of < 0.05 was considered significant. ResultsThe chronological age was above estimated age by all three methods used to assess male samples. Significant difference was seen with William's method (p=0.000) and the the London Atlas Method (p=0.000), and no significant difference was seen with Demirjian's method (p=0.102). Demirjian's method estimated the age above chronological age for females while the other two methods were below in their estimates. There were significant differences only between the London Atlas estimates and chronological age in females (p = 0.020). ConclusionsAge estimated by Demirjian’s method on Saudi population is most accurate among the methods tested. Boys showed more variations than girls when the ages were measured. Changing diet and socioeconomic factors influence growth and development of children, and this can alter the anticipated outcomes of age determination by mathematical methods.
ABSTRACT
Background: Worldwide, oral carcinoma is one of the most prevalent cancers and is one of the most common causes of death. Toxicity by oxygen radicals has been suggested as an important cause of cancer. Several researchers have reported an association of plasma/serum uric acid with different cancers. Aim: The aim was to determine the serum uric acid level in patients with newly diagnosed oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and then to compare and correlate it with those of normal subjects and also to determine the role of uric acid in the etiology of OSCC. Materials and Methods: The study group included 41 OSCC patients and 40 age‑ and sex‑ matched healthy subjects as a control group. Estimation of serum urate concentration was determined enzymatically with a commercially available reagent. The data were statistically evaluated with Student’s t‑test and Chi‑square test using SPSS 11.5 software. Results: The mean serum uric acid levels were very low with the study group as compared to control group and were very highly significant (t = 4.14, P < 0.001). It was also found that risk of OSCC was more in a study group with low serum uric acid levels with tobacco intake. Conclusion: This study showed that serum uric acid was lower in oral cancer patients compared with healthy volunteers and low serum uric acid was associated with increased risk of oral cancer development.