Avantages et limites de l'utilisation de la parodontolyse et de la translucidité de la racine pour estimer l'âge au décès des adultes

The aim of the study is to test the repeatability and reproducibility of periodontosis and root transparency, the relation between both indicators and age and the variability between the teeth of an individual, in the aim to identify usable parameters/matters in a new age-at-death assessment method. Two series from clinical extraction were studied. Non-parametric statistical tests were applied. This study show that periodontosis and root transparency measured as proposed by Lamendin et al. (1992) [9] are not reproducible. We propose three new measurements of root transparency to avoid intra- and inter-observers' differences. Two of them are appropriate. Our analysis also demonstrates that the difference between the rate of root transparency of the teeth of an individual is about 25 %. Besides, the correlation between this indicator and age is low. As a consequence, it is necessary to elaborate new methods based on this criterion taking into account methodological and biological biases.