Effectiveness of Age Estimation in Adults using Pulp: Tooth Area Ratio with Computer Aided Software

Aim: The purpose of the present study was to check for the effectiveness of assessing the chronological age based on the relationship between age and measure of the pulp/tooth area ratio on single-rooted teeth i.e., 3 mandibular teeth (canine, 1st premolar and 2ndpremolar) using orthopantomographs and a computer-aided software program ImageJ. Method: It is a retrospective study where 250 OPGs were evaluated from the archives of dept of OMRof Jaipur dental college, Jaipur. Age was estimated using Cameriere et al. method after which regression equation derived by Mostafa M Afify was applied and result was calculated using SPSS software. Results: Linear regression analysis was used to derive multiple regression formulae for individual teeth. R2 (coefficient of determination) for mandibular premolar teeth was highest (0.868)with a standard error of 0.007460 years and thus was a better predictor of age in the population of Jaipur, Rajasthan. Karl Pearson?s correlation coefficient also showed correlation between age and the mean of ratios of single tooth. Conclusion: ImageJ is a promising tool for predicting age of an individual. 2nd premolar predicted the age accurately followed by canine and later 1st premolar for estimating the age in accordance to Morsi et al.