Age estimation of living people undergoing criminal proceedings

Which then are the methods to use? A questionnaire survey was sent to all institutes of forensic medicine as well as to anthropologists and dentists doing forensic work in Germany, Austria, Switzerland to obtain an overview of the methods used for age estimation in the German-speaking countries.2 The panel shows the variety of methods used and suggests that there is wide agreement that the following methods are suitable: physical inspection with determination of body measures and signs of sexual maturation, radiographic examination of the hand, and examination by a dentist with evaluation of an orthopantogram. Radiographic examination of numerous segments of the skeleton should not be done because it involves an unnecessary increase in radiation exposure while providing only little additional information.