Regression Equations for Age Estimation of South Asian Population from Cells of Human Dental Pulp

Due to improved healthcare services the human life expectancy has improved, therefore the interest of understanding the effect of age on number of dental pulp cells count has increased being key for maintaining vitality of the tooth. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between numbers of dental pulp cells odontoblasts (OCs), subodontoblasts (SOCs) and fibroblasts (FCs) with age, within different age groups for Pakistani and Saudi Arabian populations. A total number of 220 tooth samples were included in the study, comprising of 55-teeth for individuals aged groups between 6-30 years and 31-85 years for Group I and Group II of both Pakistani and Saudi Arabian populations respectively. The qualitative research was conducted at Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from February 2019 to July 2019. Regression equations (RE) for the estimation of individuals' age from dental pulp cell count were developed. The values of the correlations obtained for each RE indicate good fits for the equations obtained. The pulp cells were observed to upsurge till third decade of life, later were observed to decline with increasing age. Pearson correlation revealed positive relation between number of dental pulp cells with age for Group I whereas a significant negative relationship for individuals above 30 years above. RE generated using number of OCs, SOCs and FCs for determination of age with standard error estimate was ±3 and ±6 years for Pakistani population Group I (6-30 years) and Group II (31-85 years) respectively whereas, for Saudi Arabian population Group I and Group II it was ±4 years and ±9 years. The age estimates made by the number of dental pulp cells were not statistically significantly different (p>0.05) from chronological age.