Objectives: Secondary dentine is laid on pulp chamber walls with increasing age, and decreases pulp chamber size. This study aimed to investigate age estimation on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images for forensic science, and the relationship between age and pulp chamber area of maxillary and mandibular molars.
Methods: We reviewed the CBCT images of 316 first molars in 87 patients with dental lesions. The 87 patients were classified into three groups: younger, 11-28 years; middle-aged, 34-59 years; and older, 60-74 years. The relationship between age and pulp chamber area of maxillary and mandibular molars was evaluated.
Results: The mean pulp chamber area of maxillary molars was 8.4 ± 2.0, 4.4 ± 1.7, and 2.9 ± 0.9 mm2 in the younger, middle-aged, and older groups, respectively, (p = 0.028). The mean pulp chamber area of mandibular molars was 10.5 ± 2.3, 6.7 ± 2.2, and 3.7 ± 1.5 mm2 in the younger, middle-aged, and older groups, respectively, (p = 0.000). The mean pulp chamber area of mandibular molars was larger than that of maxillary molars in the younger (p = 0.000), middle-aged (p = 0.000), and older (p = 0.094) groups. The mean pulp chamber area of maxillary and mandibular molars was significantly correlated with age [Y = -0.142X + 11.582 (R 2 = 0.586, p = 0.000) and Y = -0.163X + 14.249 (R 2 = 0.609, p = 0.000), respectively].
Conclusions: These findings should be useful for diagnosis and treatment planning in dental practice and age estimation in forensic science.
Keywords: Age distribution; Cone-beam computed tomography; Dental pulp cavity; Molar.