Estimating Adult Age from the Dentition

Once a permanent tooth erupts, it begins to wear. Rate and patterns of wear are governed by tooth developmental sequences, tooth morphology, tooth size, internal crown structure, tooth angulation, non dietary tooth use the biomechanics of chewing, and diet. If the rate of wear within the population is fairy homogeneous, it follows that the extent of wear is function of age. This fact can be used in assigning dental ages to adult specimens.
The first step id assessing age by dentition is the application of the seriation of all dentations based on development and wear.
Miles was the first to establish a scale of attrition based and development. The basics of technique are as utilized like this: A first molar accumulates about 6 years of wear before the second molar of the same individual erupts (assuming eruption at 6 and 12 years, respectively). When a similar amount of wear (6 year's worth) is found on a third molar of another individual (a molar assumed to have erupted at the age of 18), the age of that individual can be estimated as 18+6=24.