Age estimation based on aspartic acid racemization in dentine: what about caries-affected teeth?

Abstract

Age estimation based on aspartic acid racemization (AAR) in dentine is one of the most precise methods in adult age. Caries induces protein degradation and may have an impact on the kinetics of AAR in dentine. We systematically examined standardized prepared dentine samples from caries-affected teeth to clarify the question, if caries-affected teeth should not be used for age estimation based on AAR at all, or if the analysis of dentine samples from such teeth may be useful after removal of the caries-affected tissue according to clinical standards. Our results suggest that caries may lead to an extensive protein degradation even in macroscopically healthy-appearing dentine samples from caries-affected teeth and may significantly affect the precision of age estimation. To ensure the quality of age estimation based on AAR in forensic practice, we recommend using dentine samples from healthy teeth. If only caries-affected teeth are available, dentine samples from at least two teeth from the same individual should be analyzed as it seems unlikely that caries-induced protein degradation occurred with identical kinetics in two different teeth. In any case, results of the analysis of caries-affected teeth must be interpreted with caution.

Identifying Methylation Patterns in Dental Pulp Aging: Application to Age-at-Death Estimation in Forensic Anthropology

“…The application of biochemical techniques, based on the natural process of aging, may provide a potential solution to this problem [ 12 ]. Until recently, the racemization of aspartic acid in dentin seemed to be the most accurate technique to determine the age of adult individuals [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. However, epigenetics, the study of heritable changes in gene expression [ 17 , 18 ], has been shown to be a valuable and more accurate tool for age estimation [ 19 ].…”

Biochemical analyses for dental age estimation: a review

“…The presence of caries in teeth has been shown to influence the rate of racemization (Griffin et al 2008). Deviations up to 20.39 years were noted in carious teeth (Sirin et al 2018). It is assumed that caries induce protein degradation, which thereby generates small fragments of lower steric hints, leading to faster accumulation of d-aspartic acid (Collins et al 1999).…”

Nutzung von Altersinformationen aus posttranslationalen Proteinmodifikationen und DNA-Methylierung zur postmortalen Lebensaltersschätzung

“…Diesbezüglich am robustesten ist die Akkumulation von D-Asp, die spontan (nichtenzymatisch) bei einer biologisch eng einregulierten Körpertemperatur um 37°C abläuft. In kariös verändertem Dentin sowie in komplexeren Geweben als Dentin kann es allerdings im Rahmen der (erkrankungs-oder altersbedingten) Gewebsdegeneration zu Einflüssen auf die Akkumulation von D-Asp kommen [16,49]. Die Akkumulation von Pen ist abhängig von der Kohlenhydratstoffwechsellage und kann jedenfalls theoretisch bei einem über lange Zeit schlecht eingestellten Diabetes mellitus beschleunigt sein, wobei dies offenbar nur in Fällen mit dauerhafter schlechter medikamentöser Einstellung von praktischer Bedeutung zu sein scheint [23,24,26].…”