Age Estimation of an Individual by Pulp-Tooth Ratio measurement using radiographs - A forensic perspective

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the age of a person by pulp/tooth ratio using digital intraoral periapical radiographs (IOPARs) of maxillary permanent lateral incisors.Material and Methods: The present study analyzed radiographs from randomly selected sample of 100 (50males and 50 females) individuals, within the age group of 16–65 years, further grouped as: Group A – 16 – 25 years of age, Group B – 26 – 35 years, Group C – 36 – 45 years, Group D – 46 – 55 years and Group E – 56 – 65 years of age. The pre-existing digital intraoral periapical radiographs(IOPARs) were collected from the archives of the institution. The images were saved as a high resolution JPEG files on a desktop computer and imported to the Adobe Photoshop CS7 image-editing software program for further analysis.Results: A statistically significant correlation between age and pulp/tooth ratio was observed and no significant difference between chronological and estimated ages was noted.Conclusion: An accurate age of a person can be estimated by pulp/tooth ratio using digital intraoral periapical radiographs(IOPARs) of maxillary permanent lateral incisors.