Tooth pulpal surface area as an indicator of age – A computer aided trial study

Gnanavel Durairaj; Ramesh Venkatapathy; Balamurali PD; Ramadoss Koliyan

Volume : VII, Issue : VI, June - 2017

Tooth pulpal surface area as an indicator of age – A computer aided trial study

Gnanavel Durairaj, Ramesh Venkatapathy, Balamurali Pd, Ramadoss Koliyan

Abstract :

Age estimation of skeletal remains is an art and not a precise science. Due to inherent challenges in aging, age estimation of the individual whether living or dead is an intimidating task in forensic investigations. The present study was undertaken to estimate the age by evaluating the Pulpal Surface Area (PSA) of ground sections of 30 extracted unaffected lower first premolar teeth of 10 different age groups in horizontal cross section at cervical line as constant with the aid of computerised digital scanner and an image analysing software “ImageJ” which is a cost–effective alternative for image analysis and a welcome tool for pathologists and researchers. The results were statistically analysed using one–way Anova and student’s ‘t’–test. The difference in PSA among different age groups was found to be highly significant.