The Home Office announced the dental x-ray pilot scheme, which started on 29 March, through a letter emailed to stakeholders at 6.20pm the previous day.
"The purpose of the trial is to establish whether dental x-rays are a useful tool in helping to establish people’s ages when they have been assessed as an adult yet continue to maintain that they are a minor," the letter said.
"Many of you will be aware of the difficulties that arise when we are not able to establish, with any certainty, the age of an asylum applicant. We are keen to utilise any appropriate tool that can increase our levels of certainty (as long as it does not have a negative impact on the individual in safeguarding terms, of course)."
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