INTRODUCTION: Identification of age of victim by tooth remains is a very old concept .Tooth is highly mineralized structure which remains unchanged even after accidental death or death due to mass disasters. Recent research indicates that tooth cemental annulations may be used more reliably for estimation of age. AIM & OBJECTIVES: To examine the correlation between age & the number of incremental lines in human dental cementum using polarizing & phase contrast microscopy & compare reliability of both microscopic methods in age estimation based on cemental annulations. MATERIALS & METHODS : The study sample consist of 30 teeth that had been extracted from patient ranging in age from 25-26 years. Longitudinal ground section were prepared & observed under polarizing & phase contrast microscope.The cemental lines were counted on magnified images on computer. RESULT & CONCLUSION : There is a strong correlation between the estimated & calculative age when phase contrast microscopy was used and increased accuracy in calculating age by phase contrast microscopy than polarizing microscopy.

Key words: Forensic Odontology, Age estimation, Cemental Annulations, Phase contrast microscopy