PubMed · 5581382
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W R Allen, J M Collins. 1971. A modified cryostat technique for tooth sectioning.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5581382/
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The crypts outside St Bride's Church, London, contain a documented collection of skeletal remains dating from the mid-18th century. Some of these remains became mixed during post-war restoration work on the church. The worst example of such mixing involves ten infants that were boxed all together with their corresponding coffin plates. All the infants were aged between 1 and 4 years at death. Recognized skeletal aging criteria proved unsuccessful in identifying the bodies. A more precise method of age estimation was utilized in order to separate these individuals. Age was determined using the incremental markers found in dental microstructure which are thought to be formed in circadian and circaseptan rhythms. The resulting age estimates were compared with the real ages obtained from the coffin plates and death certificates. Confident identification was achieved in eight out of ten cases. This study illustrates the potential value of a little-known aging method in circumstances where commonly used methods have proved unsuccessful.
The literature on age estimation from the structure of adult human teeth is reviewed. Several anatomic changes of teeth have been shown to be valuable in age determination, but there is still controversy concerning the accuracy of cemental annulation. It is believed that improvements in age estimation can be made using direct measurement rather than scoring systems.
The amount of secondary dentin in a tooth has been used as one of several parameters in methods for age estimation. Dentin deposition has been measured according to various scoring systems, and the Pearson correlation coefficient with age has been found to be approximately 0.6. In the present study of 1000 teeth, molars excluded, secondary dentin was estimated according to three scoring systems. The teeth were prepared according to the half tooth technique. In addition, the area of the coronal pulp and the widths of the root and pulp chamber were measured in a stereomicroscope at the cemento-enamel junction and at three other defined points along the root. The Pearson correlation coefficient between age and secondary dentin varied in different types of teeth. Of the scoring systems, scores according to Johanson were most strongly correlated with age (r = 0.59 to 0.74). Correlation between age and the coronal pulp area varied from -0.47 to -0.72, and the range between age and ratio between pulp- and tooth width at the cemento-enamel junction was from -0.46 to -0.77. Correlations between age and ratio between sum of pulp widths and the sum of tooth widths for all four such measurements ranged from -0.58 to -0.81. Multiple regression analyses showed that by combining several types of measurements, the correlation with age was increased. A tendency was also observed towards reduced speed of secondary dentin formation in the elderly and in women.