CBCT in dental age estimation: A systematic review and meta analysis

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Radiology
• Forensic Science

Background:

• Dental age estimation is crucial for assessing developmental stages.
• Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) offers advanced imaging for dental analysis.
• Reproducibility and accuracy of CBCT-based age estimation methods require thorough investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reproducibility of dental age estimation techniques using CBCT.
• To determine the correlation between dental age (DA) and chronological age (CA) derived from CBCT.
• To compare the performance of different CBCT-based age estimation methods.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted across six major scientific databases.
• Observational studies quantifying method reproducibility (e.g., kappa statistics, ICC) and DA-CA correlation (r) were included.
• A three-level random-effects meta-analysis with moderator analysis was performed.

Main Results:

• Thirty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria, utilizing metric, volumetric, staging, or atlas methods.
• All included studies reported high examiner reproducibility for CBCT-based age estimation.
• Metric and volumetric methods showed a strong inverse correlation (r = -0.71) with CA, outperforming staging methods (r = 0.49).
• Population-specific variations were noted, particularly in Southeast Asia (r = -0.89).

Conclusions:

• CBCT methods demonstrate high reproducibility and reliability for dental age estimation.
• Metric and volumetric analyses are superior to staging for predicting chronological age.
• Further research into population-specific CBCT age estimation is recommended.