Relationships between Dental Topography, Gross Wear, and Bang and Ramm/Liversidge and Molleson Age Estimates for a Sample of Human Premolar Teeth

Objectives: Molar crown wear is often used in bioarchaeological research as a proxy for age at death. However, a small number of researchers have used premolars or compared the application of different methods of relative age estimation. Material and methods: Using a sample of 197 previously extracted maxillary first premolars from US dental patients, we considered three protocols for estimating age: the Bang and Ramm/Liversidge and Molleson (BRLM) age estimate method, occlusal topographic analysis, and the Smith system of macrowear scoring. A previous study utilizing the Bang and Ramm method yielded an age estimate range of 9.4 to 10.8 years for the sample. Results: Our analyses showed no associations between occlusal topography parameters (occlusal slope, relief, or faceting) and BRLM age estimates, but some concordance was found between Smith scoring and BRLM ages estimates and between Smith scoring and occlusal topography parameters. Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that relationships between gross tooth wear, tooth shape, and dental age estimates are complex, and available methods should be considered together to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how teeth change their shape with wear through-out the lifecourse.
Svrha: Trošenje zubne krune kutnjaka često se koristi u bioarheološkim istraživanjima za procjenu dobi u trenutku smrti. No u nekoliko takvih analiza upotrijebljeni su pretkutnjaci ili se uspoređivala primjena različitih metoda procjene relativne dobi. Materijal i metode: Koristeći se uzorkom od 197 izvađenih prvih maksilarnih pretkutnjaka stomatoloških pacijenata iz SAD-a, u radu razmatramo tri protokola za procjenu dobi – prema Bangu i Ramm/Liversidgeu te Mollesonu (BRLM), okluzalnu topografsku analizu i Smithovu metodu za sustav bodovanja makroistrošenosti. U prethodnoj studiji koja se koristila metodom Banga i Ramma dobiven je raspon procijenjene dobi od 9,4 do 10,8 godina za uzorak. Rezultati: Naše analize nisu pokazale povezanost između parametara okluzalne topografije (okluzalni nagib, reljef ili faseta) i procjene starosti BRLM-a, i određenu podudarnost između Smithova bodovanja i procjena starosti BRLM-a te između Smithova bodovanja i parametara okluzalne topografije. Zaključak: Dobiveni rezultati sugeriraju da su odnosi između gruboga trošenja zuba, njihova oblika i procjene starosti složeni, a dostupne metode treba razmotriti zajedno kako bi se steklo sveobuhvatnije razumijevanje o tome kako zubi tijekom života trošenjem mijenjaju oblik.