Assessment of age by measuring variation in pulp tooth area ratio – An orthopantomographic study

Age estimation is an indicator employed to establish identity in forensic cases. The teeth are frequently used for age estimation as they are hardest structures and can be preserved long and also inspected directly in living individuals. The aim of this study was to estimate the age of an adult individual using maxillary canine in orthopantomograph. The study group comprised of 160 patients between 21 to 60 years. Orthopantomographs were taken, digitized and processed in AutoCAD. The pulp/tooth area, pulp/tooth length, pulp/root length, pulp/root width at 3 different levels were measured and the results were statistically analyzed. Step wise multiple regression analysis yielded the formulae to predict the chronological age. The full model explained 53% of total variance and the selected variables explained 51%. The mean predicted age was less than 5 years. The morphological parameters can estimate the chronological age using a single rooted tooth like canine.