Application of the Kvaal method for adult dental age estimation using Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT)

Marroquin Penaloza TY 1 , Karkhanis S 2 , Kvaal SI 3 , Nurul F 4 , Kanagasingam S 5 , Franklin D 6 Show all authors , Vasudavan S 7 , Kruger E 8 , Tennant M 9

Affiliations 

  • 1 University of Western Australia, School of Anatomy Physiology and Human Biology, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected]
  • 2 University of Western Australia, School of Anatomy Physiology and Human Biology, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected]
  • 3 University of Oslo, Faculty of Dentistry, Institute of Clinical Dentistry, P.O. Box 1109, Blindern, N-0317 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: [email protected]
  • 4 Radiology Unit, Dental Faculty University of Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: [email protected]
  • 5 Faculty of Dentistry, University of Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: [email protected]
  • 6 University of Western Australia, School of Anatomy Physiology and Human Biology, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected]
  • 7 University of Western Australia, School of Anatomy Physiology and Human Biology, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected]
  • 8 University of Western Australia, School of Anatomy Physiology and Human Biology, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected]
  • 9 University of Western Australia, School of Anatomy Physiology and Human Biology, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected]
J Forensic Leg Med, 2016 Nov;44:178-182.
PMID: 27821308 DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2016.10.013

Abstract

Different non-invasive methods have been proposed for dental age estimation in adults, with the Kvaal et al. method as one of the more frequently tested in different populations. The purpose of this study was to apply the Kvaal et al. method for dental age estimation on modern volumetric data from 3D digital systems. To this end, 101 CBCT images from a Malaysian population were used. Fifty-five per cent were female (n = 55), and forty-five percent were male (n = 46), with a median age of 31 years for both sexes. As tomographs allow the observer to obtain a sagittal and coronal view of the teeth, the Kvaal pulp/root width measurements and ratios were calculated in the bucco-lingual and mesio-distal aspects of the tooth. From these data different linear regression models and formulae were built. The most accurate models for estimating age were obtained from a diverse combination of measurements (SEE ±10.58 years), and for the mesio-distal measurements of the central incisor at level A (SEE ±12.84 years). This accuracy, however is outside an acceptable range in for forensic application (SEE ±10.00 years), and is also more time consuming than the original approach based on dental radiographs.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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