Age estimation by pulp/tooth ratio in lateral and central incisors by peri-apical X-ray

Since 2004, several papers on the analysis of the apposition of secondary dentine have been published. The aim of this paper was to study a sample of peri-apical X-ray images of upper and lower incisors, both lateral and medial, to examine the application of pulp/tooth area ratio as an indicator of age. A sample of 116 individuals, 62 men and 54 women, aged between 18 and 74 years, was studied. Data were fitted with age as a linear function of the pulp/tooth ratio of incisors. The total variance explained by the regression equation ranged from 51.3% of age, when lower lateral incisors were used as explanatory variable, to 81.6% when upper lateral incisors were used. The accuracy of the corresponding regression model yielded ME = 8.44 and 5.34 years, respectively. These results show that, although incisors are less reliable than canines or lower premolars, they can be used to estimate age-at-death when the latter are absent.