Abstract
The author studied the vertical height of tooth crown and the amounts of alveolar bone resorption with age. All 84 subjects(44 male, 40female) who visited Dental hospital of Wonkwang University with no history of sever periodontal disease and no experience of periodontal surgery. 84 subject were divided into 3 groups by age, that is, group I(28-32yrs), group II(38-42yrs), and group III(48-52yrs). Informal radiogram with bite wing film(horizontal angulation : $0^{\circ}$, vertical angulation : $+5^{\circ}~+10^{\circ}$) were taken on premolar and molar area. The distances from cusp tip to cementoenamel junction (vertical height of tooth crown) and from cementoenamel junction alveolar crest(amount of alveolar bone resorption) were measured, and then recorded data from 946 teeth were statistically analysed. This study was undertaken to obtain the data for age estimation by the changes of tooth crown height and alveolar bone resorption in the point of forensic odontology. The obtained results were as follows : 1. The average crown height of mandibular right 1st. molar was 7.1mm in group I, 6.7mm in group II, and 6.6mm group III, and the average amount of alveolar bone resorption on mandibular right 1st. molar were 1.8mm in group I, 2.5mm in group II, and 3.0mm in group III. Ratio of tooth crown height to amount of alveolar bone resorption was 4.0:1 in groupI, 2.7:1 in group II, and 2.2:1 in group III, the ratio was decreased with age. 2. In comparison with upper teeth and lower teeth in ipsilateral side, the average value of tooth crown height and amount of alveolar bone resorption were slightly higher in upper arch than those in lower arch, but there was not a statistically significant difference. 3. The ratio of height of tooth crown to amount of alveolar bone resorption was decreased with age, and which depended mainly upon the change of amount of alveolar bone resorption rather than the change of tooth crown height.