Title
Development and comparative validation of a Pune-specific regression formula for forensic age estimation using root dentin translucency
Authors
Manish Bhagwan Sarode1,*, Pratibha Sultane2, Jagdishchandra Vathar2, Vivek Nandkishor Padghan3, Ashish Diwakar Meshram4, Siddharth Uttam Chaudhari5 & Nisha C. Salvi6
Affiliation
1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Government Dental College and Hospital, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India; 2Department of Public Health Dentistry, Government Dental College and Hospital, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India; 3Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Government Dental College and Hospital, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India; 4Department of Prosthodontics, Government Dental College and Hospital, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India; 5Department of Oral Diagnosis, Medicine & Radiology, Government Dental College and Hospital, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India; 6Department of Periodontology, Government Dental College and Hospital, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India; *Corresponding author
Manish Bhagwan Sarode - E-mail: drmanishsarode@gmail.com
Pratibha Sultane - E-mail: 090pratibha@gmail.com
Jagdishchandra Vathar - E-mail: drjagdish.v@rediffmail.com
Vivek Nandkishor Padghan - E-mail: vivek.padghan2989@gmail.com
Ashish Diwakar Meshram - E-mail: ashishmeshram837@gmail.com
Siddharth Uttam Chaudhari - E-mail: drsiddharth619@gmail.com
Nisha C. Salvi - E-mail: nishasalvi291@gmail.com
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received August 1, 2026; Revised August 31, 2026; Accepted August 31, 2026, Published August 31, 2026
Abstract
Root dentin translucency is a measurable age-related change that may require population-specific calibration for forensic use. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate 100 extracted permanent mandibular second premolars from individuals in the second to eighth decades of life; 250-µm buccolingual sections were digitally scanned and translucency length was measured using the Bang and Ramm approach. Chronological age showed a strong positive correlation with translucency length (r = 0.890, p = 0.001), yielding the Pune-specific equation: Age = 22.29 + 4.670 × translucency length. Mean age estimated by the Pune formula (47.76 years) closely matched actual age (47.87 years; p = 0.877), whereas the Acharya formula estimated 48.73 years and differed significantly from actual age (p = 0.029), with higher absolute error across age groups. A locally calibrated root-dentin-translucency equation therefore provided better age-estimation accuracy in this sample and supports regional validation before forensic application.
Keywords
Forensic odontology, age estimation, root dentin translucency, regression formula, mandibular second premolar
Citation
Sarode et al. Bioinformation 22(8): 5257-5260 (2026)
Edited by
Hiroj Bagde
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
