Age estimation of an Indian population by using the Kim's scoring system of occlusal tooth wear

CONTEXT: Age is one of the prime factors employed to establish the identity of an individual and the use of teeth for this purpose has been considered reliable. Tooth wear is widely accepted as a physiological consequence of aging and evaluation of tooth wear can be a simple and convenient tool to estimate age in adults. AIMS: The present study was conducted to record the degree of tooth wear among Indian adults and to estimate their ages from the degree of tooth wear based on Kim's scoring system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dental stone casts of 120 participants were used to assess the degree of occlusal tooth wear based on the criteria given by Kim et al. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The age of all subjects was estimated based on these scores using multiple regression analysis function. RESULTS: The degree of tooth wear showed a significant positive correlation with age in each and every examined tooth of both males and females. The predicted age was within ± 5 years of actual age in 70% of males and 68.3% females, and within ± 3 years of actual age in 50% of males and 50.1% of females. CONCLUSIONS: Kim's scoring system has proven to be a useful tool in estimation of age using occlusal wear in an Indian population with a high level of accuracy in adults.