Tooth coronal index: Key for age estimation on digital panoramic radiographs

Background: Assessment of age through teeth is one of the most reliable and simple method than skeletal remains, to calculate age of an individual. Objectives: The study was carried out with an aim to evaluate reliability of dental age assessment through tooth coronal index (TCI) method. Materials and Methods: The digital panoramic radiographs of 100 subjects of Chhattisgarh aged 20–70 years were selected for the study. The measurements were performed on the JPEG images of selected panoramic radiographs by using Adobe Acrobat 7.0 professional software. The height of the crown, i.e., coronal height, and the height of the coronal pulp cavity, i.e., coronal pulp cavity height, of mandibular second premolars and first molars were measured in millimeter (mm) and then TCI was calculated for each tooth. Actual age of a subject was compared with TCI of tooth and the acquired data were subjected to Pearson's correlation and unpaired t-tests. Results: Negative correlation was observed between the real age and TCI of mandibular first molar (r = −0.092, P = 0.365) and second premolar (r = −0.168, P = 0.096). Statistically significant difference was observed between real age and TCI for mandibular second premolar and first molar (P = 0.000) by unpaired t-test. Conclusion: TCI has the potential to estimate age of an individual on dental radiographs. It is simple, cost effective than histological methods and can be applied to both living and unknown dead.