The development of the teeth follows a fairly regular timetable, and by examining the dental development of an individual, a fairly accurate estimation of age can be given, up to about twenty-one years.

This has become useful in determining the rights of young asylum seekers, who arrive with no documentation, but the knowledge that the younger they appear to be, the ‘better’ their entitlement appears to be. Further controversy has entered the situation, in that an x-ray has to be taken for this to be at all accurate, and issues of consent, and clinical need have muddied the waters somewhat.

After the age of twenty-one, it becomes much more difficult to assess the age from the dentition, because it becomes a matter of assessing the wear on the tooth surfaces, and for this, an idea of the culture in which the person lived is necessary.