Age Estimation Based on Pulp Chamber Size of Mandibular First Molars from Intraoral Periapical Radiographs in Korean

Hye-Mi Jeon; Seok-Min Jang; Kyung-Hee Kim; So-Yeun Kim; Kyung-Hwa Jung; Soo-Min Ok; Sung-Hee Jeong; Yong-Woo Ahn

doi:10.7580/kjlm.2018.42.2.56

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Jeon, Jang, Kim, Kim, Jung, Ok, Jeong, and Ahn: Age Estimation Based on Pulp Chamber Size of Mandibular First Molars from Intraoral Periapical Radiographs in Korean

Original Article

Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 2018; 42(2): 56-61.

Published online: 31 May 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2018.42.2.56

Age Estimation Based on Pulp Chamber Size of Mandibular First Molars from Intraoral Periapical Radiographs in Korean

Hye-Mi Jeon¹, Seok-Min Jang², Kyung-Hee Kim³, So-Yeun Kim¹, Kyung-Hwa Jung¹, Soo-Min Ok², Sung-Hee Jeong², Yong-Woo Ahn²

¹Dental Clinic Center, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea.

²Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Korea.

³Department of Oral Medicine, Inje University Pusan Paik Hospital, Inje University, Busan, Korea.

Correspondence to Yong-Woo Ahn. Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, 20 Geumo-ro, Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan 50612, Korea. Tel: +82-55-360-5233, Fax: +82-55-360-5234, ahnyongw@pusan.ac.kr

Received 4 April 2018 Revised 25 April 2018 Accepted 15 May 2018

The Korean Society for Legal Medicine

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The teeth are the hardest structures in the body and can be a biomarker of aging. The aging process and degenerative changes in the teeth are helpful for estimation of age in adults. One of the best-known features of dental aging is a reduction in the size of the pulp chamber as a result of secondary deposition of dentin. In this study, we developed new regression models to estimate chronological age in Korean adults using the mandibular first molars to examine the relationship between age and pulp cavity size on intraoral radiographs. Intraoral periapical digital radiographs of the mandibular first molars were collected from 243 patients (147 male, 96 female) of known age. The radiographic images were analyzed by using the Adobe Photoshop CS5 image editing program. The pulp chamber height ratio (PCHR), pulp chamber width ratio (PCWR) were calculated and found to have a significant negative correlation with age. The correlation was consistently higher for PCHR than for PCWR. The strongest correlation was found for PCHR in female patients (r=−0.824). Multiple regression models were derived using the PCHR and PCWR. The determination coefficients (R²) of the models ranged from 0.660 to 0.730. Our results indicate that the measurement of pulp chamber height and width in the mandibular first molar is a practical, simple and reliable method for estimation of age in Korean adults.

Keywords: Age determination by teeth, Dentin, Korea, Population, Radiography

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

(A) Schematic representation of tooth measurements (lingual aspect of permanent mandibular first molar). (B) Measurements performed on intraoral periapical radiograph of a mandibular first molar by using Adobe Photoshop CS5 program. A-B, distance from the start point of lingual groove to the highest point on the root furcation; a-b, the height of the pulp chamber; C-D, mesiodistal diameter at the point of bisecting a-b; c-d, the width of the pulp chamber; CEJ, cemento-enamel junction.

Table 1

Distribution of subjects in study

Table 2

Pearson's correlation coefficients (r) between chronological age and the ratios of measurements from intraoral periapical radiographs for the pooled sample, and each sex

PCHR, pulp chamber height ratio; PCWR, pulp chamber width ratio.

^*P<0.05, ^**P<0.01.

Table 3

Linear regression equations for estimating age (yr) from independent ratios of measurements on intraoral periapical radiographs

SE, standard error of the estimates; PCHR, pulp chamber height ratio; PCWR, pulp chamber width ratio.

Table 4

Multiple regression equations for estimating age (yr) from independent ratios of measurements on intraoral periapical radiographs

SE, standard error of the estimates; PCWR, pulp chamber width ratio; PCHR, pulp chamber height ratio.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a Clinical Research Grant from Pusan National University Hospital (2018).

Notes

^{Conflicts of Interest} No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

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