Abstract

The present study aimed to assess the validity of coronal pulp/tooth area ratio (AR) and tooth/coronal index (TCI) indices in the mandibular first molar and second premolar for age estimation.110 digital panoramic radiographs of 60 male and 50 female subjects aged between 15 to 44 years were studied. The coronal pulp/tooth area ratio (AR) and tooth/crown index (TCI) of mandibular first molar and second premolar teeth was measured using AutoCAD software. Data were analyzed based on Pearson correlation coefficient regression formula and, t-test, and ANOVA. Considering the effect of sex, differences in the morphological variable of mandibular first molar and second premolar were not statistically significant. In the mandibular first molars, the subject�s age significantly affects the AR (P-value=0.003) and TCI (P-value=0.027) indices. There was a significant and positive correlation between the two morphological variables of AR and TCI (r=0.797 for mandibular second premolar and r=0.0686 for a mandibular first molar, P-value<0.001). Linear regression analysis showed that concurrent application of the two indices in one formulation could be a reliable technique for age estimation. According to the results of this study, in the Iranian populations, the application of AR and TCI indices simultaneously in one formulation had better results for age estimation in younger adults. © 2020 by the authors.