Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Malaga, 29071, Malaga, Spain.
Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain.
Int J Legal Med. 2021 Jan;135(1):359-364. doi: 10.1007/s00414-020-02377-y. Epub 2020 Jul 17.
Dental age estimation in living individuals is one of the most frequent requests undertaken by forensic odontologists. The aim of this study was to estimate the dental age by pulp/tooth volume ratio, as measured on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images, in a Spanish population. This study included 313 teeth from 107 adult individuals, 56 females and 51 males with a mean age of 44 ± 14 years. The statistical analysis of the results took account of clustering (multiple teeth in individuals). Linear regression models were constructed on the relationship between pulp/tooth volume ratio and chronological age for each tooth type. The highest coefficient of determination (R) value was provided by the upper incisors (36.6%), and the difference between chronological and estimated age was less than 5 years in 31.3% of the sample and less than 10 years for 65.7%. CBCT is an accurate imaging technique to measure dental volume with a relatively low radiation dose, and it can be used to assess dental age in living adult individuals. Volumetric changes in the pulp cavity with increasing age proved valuable to estimate dental age in this Spanish population.
在活体个体中进行牙龄估计是法医牙科学家最常进行的请求之一。本研究的目的是通过测量锥形束计算机断层扫描 (CBCT) 图像上的牙髓/牙体体积比来估计西班牙人群的牙龄。该研究包括 107 名成年个体（56 名女性和 51 名男性）的 313 颗牙齿，平均年龄为 44 ± 14 岁。对结果的统计分析考虑了聚类（个体中的多颗牙齿）。为每种牙型构建了牙髓/牙体体积比与年龄的线性回归模型。上切牙提供了最高的决定系数 (R) 值（36.6%），并且样本中 31.3%的个体的实际年龄和估计年龄相差不到 5 岁，65.7%的个体相差不到 10 岁。CBCT 是一种准确的测量牙体体积的成像技术，辐射剂量相对较低，可用于评估活体成年个体的牙龄。随着年龄的增长，牙髓腔的容积变化对于估计本西班牙人群的牙龄具有重要价值。
