Can canines alone be used for age estimation in Chinese individuals when applying the Kvaal method?

Abstract

Due to the secondary dentin formation, the dental pulp undergoes changes in shape throughout life. Based on this phenomenon, the Kvaal method has been applied to various populations for age estimation, and its usefulness has been verified. When applying the Kvaal method to Chinese subjects, we observed a relatively strong correlation between mandibular canines and age. This study notes the correlation between canines and chronological age and is the first to identify which canine is most closely related to chronological age. In addition, a new, simpler formula is determined based on canines according to Kvaal's methodology. The radiographs of 360 individuals from northern China were selected, from which the widths and lengths of the pulp from four canines were measured according to the Kvaal method. Next, inter-and intra-observer reliabilities were analyzed in order to assess the repeatability of these measurements. The correlation between measurements and age was examined, and Chinese-specific age estimation formulae were derived. The results revealed that the ratios from the left maxillary canine exhibited the strongest correlation with age compared to the other canines, whereas the left mandibular canine showed the weakest correlation, which may contribute to the overall poor correlation of mandibular canines with age. What's more, the formula derived from the left maxillary canine in this study displayed the highest coefficients of determination, and the formula derived from all canines showed the lowest residuals. Both of these formulae performed better than the Chinese-specific formula derived from six different types of teeth in our previous study, which had formerly possessed the highest coefficients of determination and the lowest residuals. Thus, we concluded that canines do play an important role in age estimation in the Chinese population, and the correlation between maxillary canines and chronological age is stronger than that of mandibular canines, although no distinct trend as to which side is better correlated with age was established. Going forward, we recommend the analysis of additional samples from different geographical regions and populations to further verify the importance of canines in age estimation.

<strong>Correlation between human chronological age and dentin volume of maxillary canine</strong>

“…This is influenced by the style of mastication. 31,32 The results of this study are in line with the results of the study by Li, Zhao et al 31 who used the Kvaal method found that the maxillary canines in the left region had a stronger correlation than the right region.…”

Dental age estimation using the Kvaal method—an evaluation of length and width ratios: a systematic review

“…In terms of teeth, mandibular first premolars, level B showed the best correlation with age [ 13 ]. Similarly, some authors who have used lengths and width measurements to calculate age have proposed that the use of width parameters without the length ratios achieves higher accuracy of results [ 12 , 13 , 26 , 29 ].…”

“…Four studies used a combination of the Kvaal recommended six teeth with three mandibular and three maxillary teeth and a sum of six teeth [9,12,14,21]. Two studies used canines [24,29].Two studies used a combination of three mandibular and three maxillary teeth and the sum of mandibular and maxillary teeth [22,32]. One study used a combination of three mandibular teeth and three maxillary teeth [10].…”

Combining the third molar mineralization to further improve the accuracy of the Kvaal’s method in dental age estimation of subadults in northern China

“…For example, Li et al . [ 27 ] found that measured data of maxillary canines were more correlated with CA compared with other teeth in the age estimation of northern Chinese population. This study was inspired by their previous research, which found that the mandibular canines had a relatively high correlation with CA [ 18 ].…”