Dental Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Dental, including details on implants, health, hygiene, cosmetic, dentistry.

Dental age estimation through volume matching of teeth imaged by cone-beam CT.

Yang F, Jacobs R, Willems G

Oral Imaging Center, School of Dentistry, Oral Pathology and Maxillo-Facial Surgery, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

A custom-made voxel counting software for calculating the ratio between pulp canal versus tooth volume based on cone-beam CT tooth images was developed and evaluated. The aim of this study was to attempt establishing a correlation between the chronological age of a certain individual and the pulp/tooth volume ratio of one of the teeth. Twenty-eight single rooted teeth of 19 individuals with well-known chronological age were scanned by the cone-beam CT (3D Accuitomo, J. Morita, Kyoto, Japan). Next the images were analyzed using the custom-made software. Linear regression analysis was performed. The results of the analysis showed a moderate correlation between the pulp/tooth volume ratio and biological age with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.29. Although the present work was limited to a pilot study, the developed technique showed promising results for dental age estimation in a non-invasive manner using cone-beam CT images in living individuals.

Published 18 April 2006 in Forensic Sci Int, 159: S78-83.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Dental Research Today. All Rights Reserved.