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Expressing Uncertainty in Dental Age Estimation: A Comparison between Two Methods of Calculating the “Average” Standard Deviation
Author(s) -
Draft Derek,
Lucas Victoria S.,
McDonald Fraser,
Andiappan Manoharan,
Roberts Graham
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.14049
Subject(s) - standard deviation , statistics , weighting , mathematics , point estimation , estimation , range (aeronautics) , standard error , absolute deviation , weighted arithmetic mean , mean difference , pooled variance , medicine , orthodontics , dentistry , confidence interval , materials science , management , economics , composite material , radiology
The expression of uncertainty is defined by the standard deviation and is usually expressed in multiples of the standard deviation (±1sd, ±2sd, and ±3sd). The objective was to use weighting of the sd calculation by the number or count of subjects for each tooth development stage. A comparison shows the difference between the range of uncertainty using the unweighted sd and the weighted sd. The range of uncertainty related to Dental Age Estimation is statistically significantly greater ( p < 0.001) for the weighted sd compared to the unweighted sd. It is concluded that the number of subjects for each Tooth Development Stage in the Reference Data set should be included in the calculation for a single Dental Age Estimation using the Simple Average Method when presenting the uncertainty associated with the point estimate of the “mean” for Dental Age Estimation of a single subject of unknown age.