Gustafson Method
Definition
Dental ageing method based on six progressive changes in a single tooth: attrition, periodontosis, secondary dentine, cementum apposition, root resorption and root transparency.
- Domain
- Dental age estimation
- Basis
- Six progressive changes in a single tooth
- Criteria
- Attrition, periodontosis, secondary dentine, cementum apposition, root resorption, root transparency
Common questions
Why can Gustafson's method work from a single tooth?+
Each of the six criteria tracks a different age-related change occurring within one tooth over a lifetime, so scoring all six together on that tooth gives a composite age estimate without needing a full dentition, which is useful when only fragmentary or isolated remains are recovered.
What limits the accuracy of the Gustafson method today?+
The original regression was built on a specific reference population, so applying it without adjustment to a different population or dental health background can bias the estimate. It also requires sectioning the tooth for some criteria, which is destructive and not always permitted or practical.
Related terms
- Biological Profile
- The four-part osteological description of an unidentified individual: sex, age range, population affinity (ancestry), and estimated stature. The profile constrains the pool...
- Epiphyseal Fusion
- The obliteration of the cartilaginous growth plate and bony union of the epiphysis with the diaphysis. Fusion sequence and timing form the...
- Forensic Anthropology
- The laboratory and scene-side discipline concerned with the analysis of skeletal and decomposed remains to establish biological profile, manner of death, trauma,...
- Glabella
- The midline prominence on the frontal bone between the superciliary arches. Scored 1 (flat, female) to 5 (highly prominent, male). Correlated with...
- Haversian System (Osteon)
- Cylindrical structural unit of compact bone with a central Haversian canal, concentric lamellae and osteocytes in lacunae; pattern and canal density differ...
- Mastoid Process
- The conical projection inferior to the external auditory meatus on the temporal bone. Attachment for sternocleidomastoid and splenius capitis muscles. Scored 1...
- Regression Formula
- Linear equation of the form Stature = a + b × bone length (in cm), used to estimate living stature from a...
- Sciatic Notch (Greater)
- Notch on the posterior border of the hip bone; wide and shallow in females (greater than 60 degrees), narrow and deep in...
- Sexual Dimorphism
- Systematic physical differences between biological males and females of a species. In teeth it is expressed mainly as size: males average larger...
- Subpubic Angle
- The angle at the inferior apex of the pubic arch where the two inferior pubic rami meet. Acute (below 90 degrees) in...
- Trotter and Gleser Formulae
- Long-bone regression equations published in 1952 and 1958 (American war-dead and Korean War remains) for estimating living stature in Whites, Blacks, Mongoloids...