Usability of first molar teeth measurements for age and sex estimation in cone-beam computed tomography images

Abstract

Aim:The morphological changes in tooth structure due to aging gain importance in the adult period. These age-related changes can be used to determine age and sex. The aim of this study was to determine the usability of first molar tooth measurements obtained by cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in estimating chronological age and sex in Turkish study group. Materials and methods:Three-dimensional images of 332 patients older than 12 years of age with known chronological age and sex were evaluated by semi-automatic segmentation performed separately by two observers. Pulp volume and tooth volume were measured from maxillary or mandibular molar tooth in each patient. Simple linear regression analysis and discriminant function analysis were performed to estimate age and sex using the measurements. In addition, independent sample t-test was used to compare the measurements according to sex and tooth position.Results: Sex was estimated by maxillary first molar volume ratio in 76.6% of women and 56.3% of men. Age estimation (AE) with pulp/tooth volume ratio (PTVR) gave more effective results in males and maxillary first molars. Conclusions:In this study, it was found that maxillary first molar volume ratio gave more accurate results in males AE and in females' sex estimation (SE).

Sexual dimorphism in odontometric parameters using cone beam CT: a systematic review

“…Of the twenty-three studies, four were investigated in Brazil [ 2 , 3 , 19 , 20 ], four in India [ 7 , 8 , 21 , 22 ], three in Iran [ 23 , 24 , 25 ], three in Turkey [ 26 , 27 , 28 ], two in Saudi [ 4 , 5 ], one each in Poland [ 29 ], Portugal [ 30 ], Egypt [ 9 ], Ukraine [ 31 ], Italy [ 32 ], Spain [ 33 ] and Malaysia [ 6 ].…”

“… 7 Denny et al 2021 [ 8 ] India 15–30 years 100 CBCT images of 100 subjects; 56 females and 44 males Linear +Volumetric Promax 3D, Mid version (Planmeca Oy., Helsinki, Finland) Height of the crown, height of the coronal pulp cavity, tooth – coronal index Four mandibular molars No Not stated 8 Fauzi 2021 [ 21 ] India No Mention 100 CBCT images of 100 subjects; 56 females and 44 males Linear CBCT Mesiodistal width Mandibular central incisor Yes Not stated 9 Fardim et al 2021 [ 3 ] Brazil 20–65 years 1190 CBCT image of 1190 subjects;606 females and 584 males Volumetric I-CAT Next Generation (Imaging Sciences International, HA, PA, EUA); voxel of 0.25 mm; Axial, coronal and sagittal image slices. Pulp chamber volume Mandibular canines, pre-molars and molars Yes Not stated 10 Topbas and Okkesim 2021 [ 27 ] Turkey 12–69 years 332 CBCT images of 332 subjects; 162 females and 170 males Volumetric Planmeca 3D Mid (Planmeca, Helsinki, Finland) device with a voxel size of 200 μm and using 85 kVp, 10 mAs and 14 s scanning time; field of view was 15 × 9 cm. ; voxel size: a 0.2 mm 3 Pulp volume, tooth volume Maxillary or mandibular molar tooth Yes 76.6% in estimating female sex and 56.3% accuracy in estimating male sex.…”

“… ? Topbas and Okkesim 2021 [ 27 ] + + + + + + + Salam et al, 2021 [ 9 ] – + + + – + + Issrani et al 2020 [ 5 ] + + + + + + + Shalakizadeh et al, 2020 [ 25 ] + + + + + + + Manhaes-Caldas et al 2019 [ 19 ] – + + + – + + Alam et al 2019 [ 4 ] + + + + + + + Andrade et al 2019 [ 2 ] + + + + + + + Rahman&Ramakrishnan 2019 [ 22 ] ? + + + ?…”

“…Hence, it was regarded that these reports showed a risk of bias for the estimation of differences in the linear or volumetric measurements of permanent teeth. Only two studies mention power analysis used for sample size estimation [ 5 , 27 ]. The intra-class correlation coefficient was applied in most reports to analyze intra-observer and inter-observer agreements.…”

“…Accordingly, forensic researchers have evolved several methods to distinguish males from females. But still, experts choose canines for sex estimation [ 27 ].…”