Comparative analysis of sclerotic dentinal changes in attrited and carious teeth around pulp chamber for age determination.

AIM: The aim of this study was to estimate age by comparing sclerotic dentin thickness around coronal pulp chamber in carious and attrited teeth.

METHODOLOGY: Inclusion criteria for teeth selection was eruption age around six to seven years (incisors and first molars). 100 teeth (50 carious + 50 attrited) were ground up to their pulp chamber, observed and photographed under an Olympus stereomicroscope. Image J 1.38 NIH software was employed to analyze dentinal thickness.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Regression formula was employed for evaluating age and compared with clinical age obtained at time of extraction.

RESULTS: No matching values were found between calculated age and actual clinical age.

CONCLUSION: Sclerotic dentin thickness values cannot be used as an indicator for the purpose of age estimation.