Imaging Sci Dent.  2020 Sep;50(3):209-216. 10.5624/isd.2020.50.3.209.

Discriminatory ability of cervical vertebral maturation stages in predicting attainment of the legal age threshold of 14 years: A pilot study using lateral cephalograms

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Prosthodontics, Penang International Dental College, Malaysia
  • 2Department of Prosthodontics, Saraswati Dhanwantari Dental College, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India
  • 3Department of Forensic Odontology, Panineeya Mahavidyalaya Institute of Dental Sciences, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
  • 4Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Anil Neerukonda Institute of Dental Sciences, Visakhapatnam, India
  • 5Department of Oral Medicine, Panineeya Mahavidyalaya Institute of Dental Sciences, Hyderabad, India

Abstract

Purpose
In India, the age of 14 years is the legal age threshold for child labour. Therefore, in suspected instances of child labour, age assessment plays a crucial role in determining whether a violation of the law on the employment of children has occurred. The aim of this retrospective cross-sectional study was to assess the discriminatory ability of stages of cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) in predicting the legal age threshold of 14 years.
Materials and Methods
Routinely taken lateral cephalograms from 408 subjects aged 10 to 18 years were evaluated retrospectively using the CVM stages described by Baccetti et al. Descriptive statistics, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and likelihood ratios were calculated for stages 2, 3, and 4 of CVM.
Results
Real age increased as the CVM stage gradually increased. The results of 2×2 contingency tables showed that CVM stage 4 produced an accuracy of 71% and 73%, a false positive rate of 7% and 18%, and a post-test probability of 59% and 68% for boys and girls, respectively.
Conclusion
Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the stages of CVM are of limited use for predicting the attainment of the legal age threshold of 14 years. Future studies should investigate whether combinations of skeletal and dental methods could achieve better accuracy and post-test probability.

Keyword

Cervical Vertebrae; Growth and Development; Age Determination by Skeleton; Child; India
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