Background: Pulp stones are discrete calcified bodies found in the dental pulp. The aims of this study were to calculate the prevalence of pulp stones in young Australian adults using radiographs, and to report any associations between occurrence of pulp stones and sex, tooth type, dental arch, side and dental status. Methods: From 217 undergraduate dental students, comprising 123 males and 94 females aged between 17-35 years, 3296 teeth were examined under 2x magnification on bitewing radiographs. Pulp stones were scored as present or absent, and associations with sex, tooth type, dental arch, side and dental status noted. Results: Pulp stones were found in 100 (46.1 per cent) of the subjects and 333 (10.1 per cent) of the teeth examined. Occurrences were rare in premolars (0.4 per cent) but significantly higher in molars (19.7 per cent). Pulp stones were significantly more common in first molars than in second molars, and in maxillary first molars than in mandibular first molars. Carious and/or restored maxillary right first molars and maxillary left second molars displayed higher prevalences of pulp stones than unrestored and intact molars. Conclusion: Pulp stones may provide useful forensic information when examining dental records to identify deceased persons.Key words: Pulp tissue, calcification, dental arches, dental status.(Accepted for publication October 2000.) and the latter being degenerative pulp calcifications. Other studies have noted problems with the above classification and new histologic classifications have been proposed. [2][3][4]

These results suggest no major differences in the timing of tooth formation stages between these children. This fails to explain previous findings of differences using Demirjian's dental maturity method.

Background: Chronological age, as recorded by registration of birth date, is referred to throughout an individual's life. This information is relevant in medical and dental practice for evaluating developmental progress, for educational purposes, and in legal matters, particularly in the application of criminal law. The absence of birth date information raises particular concerns, and estimates of chronological age are often required. Standards of dental maturation may be used to estimate age, but they have been shown to be gender and population sensitive. Methods: The revised Demirjian 1 system of dental age estimation was applied to a sample of 615 South Australian children in order to assess its accuracy. Results:The results of our study have shown that the Demirjian system is of limited accuracy when used to estimate the age of South Australian children. Conclusions: Generation of new standard curves, specific to the Australian population, is indicated.

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