Human Age Estimation using First Premolar Dental Pulp Cavity via Cameriere's Approach

Apposition of secondary dentine can cause the decrease in pulp cavity size as the age of an individual increases. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the pulp cavity size and the age of an individual using pulp/tooth area ratio (PTR) based on Cameriere's method of Malaysian population. This study involved 168 samples with 136 samples to generate formula and 32 samples for validity test. Two-dimensional radiographs of 136 first premolar samples from Malaysian populations were used in this study. The teeth measurement was based on Cameriere's method where the ratio of pulp area to the overall tooth area PTR (pulp/tooth area ratio). Pearson statistical analysis was carried out to examine the relationship between pulp cavity size and individual's age while linear regression analysis was done to develop formula for age estimation. Pearson correlation analysis shows that there is negative correlation between pulp cavity size and individual's age (correlation coefficient: -0.608 to -0.699); an indication that the size of pulp cavity become smaller when the age increase. The R-2 value based on the formula ranged between 0.37 and 0.488 and S.E.E. ranging from 3.329 to 4.413 years. A total of 32 randomly selected first premolar samples were used to validate the accuracy of the formulas generated. The mean difference between the real age and the estimated age ranged from 1.670 years to 3.316 years. The generated formula can be potentially used to estimate individual's age in forensic cases and archaeological researches.