Pulp dimensions as an indicator of age in Turkish subpopulation

Abstract

Purpose: Age prediction is an important factor in the legal process in forensic medicine. This study aims to assess the impact of pulp height and width on dental age prediction. Materials & Methods: This study consisted of 1000 patients (11-77 years, 500 females and males). The mandibular first molar was assessed on panoramic radiography. Two age estimation methods were applied. The first technique included measurements of pulp length and crown length whereas parameters of the second method were crown width and pulp width. Patients were divided into 4 age groups: Group 1 (between 11 and 18 years), Group 2 (between 19 and 29 years), Group 3; (between 30 and 50 years), Group 4 (between 51 and 77 years). Samples were evaluated by two observers. Multiple linear regression models were performed to predict the chronological age for each indicator. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between chronological age and predicted dental age. Results: Coefficients of models 1 and 2 were 0.461 and 0.523, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis showed a negative relationship between chronological age and estimated age. The difference between sex is not statistically significant. The age between 30 and 50 years had the highest accuracy, whereas the age between 50 and 77 years had the lowest results among age subgroups. Conclusion: The parameters based on width provided more reliable outcomes than parameters based on length. The age between 30 to 59 years showed the highest accuracy of the pulp width and the pulp height in dental age prediction.