Age estimation by measuring maxillary canine pulp/tooth volume ratio on cone beam CT images with two different voxel sizes

Abstract

The aim of this study is to estimate age by measuring maxillary canine pulp/tooth volume ratio using CBCT images with a voxel resolution of 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm. This study was performed on CBCT images of 131 individuals between 17 and 75 years of age with fully erupted maxillary canine teeth. DICOM data were transferred to 3D-Doctor software, and pulp and tooth surfaces at each 0.2 mm or 0.4 mm axial section were manually drawn. Measurements in CBCT panoramic sections were also performed using Kvaal's method. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between pulp/tooth measurements and age. Results show that all measurements, except pulp/tooth length volume (R), are associated with age and that pulp/tooth volume (PV/TV) has the highest correlation with age (r = -0.486). Explanatory coefficient (R-2) of the regression model based on PV/TV is 0.236. There is no statistically significant difference between estimated and chronological ages across different gender and voxel groups (p>0.05). Regression models based on different voxel sizes are statistically significant for age estimation for both voxel groups. The present results should be tested on a wider patient population with evenly distributed samples to determine optimum voxel resolution for age estimation.