Coronal displacement of cementum: correlation between age and coronal movement of cementum in impacted teeth

This study was conducted on 48 impacted and 51 erupted maxillary permanent canine teeth extracted from healthy patients aged 13-73 years. Longitudinal buccolingual ground sections were prepared. The distance between the edges of cementum and enamel in each specimen was measured with an eyepiece micrometer. A correlation test was applied between age and the distance between enamel and cementum measurements. In impacted teeth, depending on age, cementum had a tendency to overlap the enamel; there was a linear correlation between age and coronal displacement of cementum (n-2 = 46, r = 0.69, distance (microgram) = 21.7* age (years) -440, p < 0.001). No correlation between age and coronal displacement was found in erupted teeth (n-2 = 49, r = -0.23, p > 0.05). Results of the study indicated that the cementum in impacted teeth migrated coronally during the ageing process. This may be related to continually erupting forces which affect the impacted teeth and may be a mechanism by which the teeth are protected at the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ). This phenomenon could be used in forensic dentistry to determine age. The absence of correlation in erupted teeth could be attributed to the masking effects of extrinsic factors.