Tooth shade variation in Indian population: An objective guide to age estimation

N Srikant; Annapurna S Intern; G Vaishnavi; Shweta Yellapurkar; Nidhin Philip Jose; Vinod Jathanna; Dilip G Naik

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06164

Tooth shade variation in Indian population: An objective guide to age estimation

Heliyon. 2021 Feb 5;7(2):e06164. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06164. eCollection 2021 Feb.

Authors

N Srikant¹, Annapurna S Intern², G Vaishnavi², Shweta Yellapurkar³, Nidhin Philip Jose⁴, Vinod Jathanna⁵, Dilip G Naik⁶

Affiliations

¹ Center for Forensic Odontology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India.
² Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India.
³ Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India.
⁴ Department of Orthodontics, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India.
⁵ Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India.
⁶ Department of Periodontics, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India.

Abstract

Introduction: The color of the teeth is affected by chronological age due to the variations of the hard and soft tissue structure of the teeth. There are very few studies have assessed the shade of the Enamel and correlated it with the age changes. Hence the study aimed to assess the enamel shade with the aging in the individual.

Materials and methods: The central incisors of 388 individuals (5-78 years) were assessed for tooth color using a VITA 3D master shade guide and the Hue, Value and Chroma were noted. Mean grey values of the teeth were obtained by image manipulation using Image J software and normalized using the values obtained from the 18% contrast grey card. Chi square tests and linear regression analysis is used to find associations with age and tooth shade variations.Results: The teeth had higher score of Hue, Value and Chroma in older individuals. The tooth shade tended to shift towards redder hue with older age group. Simple linear regression analysis showed a significant correlation of age with normalized grey value in association with the shade parameters. (r = 0.717, SEE = 12.322 years)Conclusion: Tooth color changes with age and the mean age in grey values and shade guides can be a useful tool for age estimation.

Keywords: Age estimation; Enamel shade; Forensic odontology; Tooth colour; VITA 3D master shade guide.