Amount of secondary dentin as an indicator of age

Abstract

The amount of secondary dentin in a tooth has been used as one of several parameters in methods for age estimation. Dentin deposition has been measured according to various scoring systems, and the Pearson correlation coefficient with age has been found to be approximately 0.6. In the present study of 1000 teeth, molars excluded, secondary dentin was estimated according to three scoring systems. The teeth were prepared according to the half tooth technique. In addition, the area of the coronal pulp and the widths of the root and pulp chamber were measured in a stereomicroscope at the cemento-enamel junction and at three other defined points along the root. The Pearson correlation coefficient between age and secondary dentin varied in different types of teeth. Of the scoring systems, scores according to Johanson were most strongly correlated with age (r = 0.59 to 0.74). Correlation between age and the coronal pulp area varied from -0.47 to -0.72, and the range between age and ratio between pulp- and tooth width at the cemento-enamel junction was from -0.46 to -0.77. Correlations between age and ratio between sum of pulp widths and the sum of tooth widths for all four such measurements ranged from -0.58 to -0.81. Multiple regression analyses showed that by combining several types of measurements, the correlation with age was increased. A tendency was also observed towards reduced speed of secondary dentin formation in the elderly and in women.