The coronal pulp cavity index: A biomarker for age determination in human adults

Abstract

The correlation between reduction of the coronal pulp cavity and chronological age was examined in a sample of 846 intact teeth from 433 individuals of known age and sex. Panoramic (rotational) radiography was used to measure the height (mm) of the crown (CH = coronal height) and the height (mm) of the coronal pulp cavity (CPCH = coronal pulp cavity height) of 425 premolars and 421 molars from 213 males and 220 females. The tooth-coronal index (TCI) after Ikeda et al. [1985] Jpn. J. For. Med. 39:244-250) was computed for each tooth and regressed on real age. The correlation coefficients ranged from -0.92 (molars, combined sample, right side) to -0.87 (female molars), with an S.E. of the estimate ranging from 5.88-6.66 years. Correlations were slightly higher in males than females. The equations obtained allowed estimation of age in a sample of 100 teeth from both sexes (not used for the regression) with an error of +/- 5 years in 81.4% of cases for male molars. The regression formulae for estimating age obtained from the recent sample were tested on a historical sample of 100 teeth from 100-year-old skeletons with an error of +/- 5 years in 70.3% of cases for male molars. This study illustrates the potential value of a little-known aging method which can be easily applied to estimate age in both living individuals and skeletal material of unknown age.

Human age estimation from lower-canine pulp volume ratio based on Bayes’ theorem with modern Japanese population as prior distribution

“…A radiograph was easier to prepare than ground sections; moreover, radiography could be applied to living humans without extracting the teeth, allowing greater number of samples to be obtained. Therefore, numerous studies have been conducted to date modifying or testing the dental radiograph-based age-estimation methods (Kvaal et al, 1995;Drusini et al, 1997;Kolltveit et al, 1998;Willems et al, 2002;Bosmans et al, 2005;Paewinsky et al, 2005;Cameriere et al, 2007;Meinl et al, 2007;Drusini, 2008;Landa et al, 2009;Du et al, 2011;Cameriere et al, 2013). Meanwhile, with the development of computed tomography (CT) technology, the pulp cavity and the tooth can now be measured in three-dimensional space (Vandevoort et al, 2004;Yang et al, 2006;Someda et al, 2009;Aboshi et al, 2010;Agematsu et al, 2010;Star et al, 2011).…”

Assessment of age with mandibular first molar: An orthopantogram study

“…6 In a previous study by Drusini et al, the tooth coronal index was calculated by measuring the length of coronal pulp cavity at the highest point of the pulp horn to length of crown. 13 In our study, the ratio of height of pulp chamber to height of crown root trunk was taken, which is easier to calculate compared to the method given by Drusini et al, since it is difficult to accurately appreciate coronal pulp chamber and CEJ. 13 In our study, the ratio of pulp to tooth height decreased with age, so a significant negative correlation was seen between the 2 variables (r = -0.765).…”

“…13 In our study, the ratio of height of pulp chamber to height of crown root trunk was taken, which is easier to calculate compared to the method given by Drusini et al, since it is difficult to accurately appreciate coronal pulp chamber and CEJ. 13 In our study, the ratio of pulp to tooth height decreased with age, so a significant negative correlation was seen between the 2 variables (r = -0.765). Similar to the results of previous studies 2,14,15 done on an Indian population, the value of the correlation was higher, suggesting digital orthopantogram and mandibular first molars are reliable in assessing the age of an individual.…”

Dental Age Estimation in Adults: A Review of the Commonly Used Radiological Methods

“…Among the 20 articles, 13 studies [5][6][7][8][9][12][13][14][15][16][17]22,23) were performed on orthopantomograms for measuring of the size of the pulp cavity and 7 studies 4,10,11,[18][19][20][21] were performed on periapical radiographs. Although most studies included range of age, only one study 23) provided insufficient data of age.…”