RESUMO
Estimation of age-at-death is an integral part of the identification process of individuals in many forensic odontology cases where their identity cannot be determined by visualization or other ways. Dental age estimation in the adult is more challenging as most of the dentition is completely developed by 18 years of age. This study employs a mesio-distal (MD) pulp-to-tooth ratio taken at the neck of lower third molars (LM3) to provide an estimation of age at the time of radiographic imaging based on the well-known fact that pulp volume tends to decrease with advancing age due to continued apposition of secondary dentine throughout adulthood. A total of 155 Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) radiographs of LM3s for a random sample of 155 Jordanian Arabs (80 females, 75 males; age range= 18-58 years, mean age= 28.2 years, SD =10.0 years) were used. Both pulp and tooth MD diameters were measured at the neck. MD pulp-to-tooth ratios for LM3s were linearly regressed against age. Statistically significant negative association was found between an individual's age at the time of imaging and the MD pulp-to-tooth ratio taken at the neck. Specifically, the strength of the association is r= -0.361, which means only 13.0 % of the variation in age can be explained by the MD pulp-to-tooth ratio taken at the neck. Therefore, it was concluded that MD pulp-to-tooth ratio taken at the neck of LM3s is not a reliable predictor of chronological age in adults, possibly due to the large variation in the timing of LM3 development.
La estimación de la edad es una parte integral del proceso de identificación de los individuos, en muchos casos en odontología forense donde la identidad no puede ser determinada por visualización u otras formas. La estimación de la edad dental en el adulto es aún más difícil ya que la mayor parte de la dentición se desarrolla completamente a los 18 años de edad. Este estudio emplea una relación mesio-distal (MD) de pulpa a diente tomada a nivel del cuello de los terceros molares inferiores (LM3) para proporcionar una estimación de la edad en el momento de la imagen radiográfica basada en que el volumen de pulpa tiende a disminuir con el avance de la edad debido a la continua posición de la dentina secundaria a lo largo de la edad adulta. Se examinaron un total de 155 radiografías de LM3 en una muestra aleatoria de 155 árabes jordanos (80 mujeres, 75 varones), rango de edad = 18-58 años, edad media = 28,2 años, DE = 10,0 años. Específicamente, la fuerza de la asociación es r=0,361, lo que significa que sólo el 13,0 % de la variación en la edad puede explicarse por la proporción pulpa-a-diente.