Three-dimensional pulp chamber volume quantification in first molars using CBCT: Implications for machine learning-assisted age estimation

ABSTRACT Accurate adult age estimation represents a critical component of forensic individual identification. However, traditional methods relying on skeletal developmental characteristics are susceptible to preservation status and developmental variation. Teeth, owing to their exceptional taphonomic resistance and minimal postmortem alteration, emerge as premier biological samples. Utilizing the high-resolution capabilities of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT), this study retrospectively analyzed 1,857 right first molars obtained from Han Chinese adults in Sichuan Province (883 males, 974 females; aged 18–65 years). Pulp chamber volume (PCV) was measured using semi-automatic segmentation in Mimics software (v21.0). Statistically significant differences in PCV were observed based on sex and tooth position (maxillary vs. mandibular). Significant negative correlations existed between PCV and age (r = -0.86 to -0.81). The strongest correlation (r = -0.88) was identified in female maxillary first molars. Eleven curvilinear regression models and six machine learning models (Linear Regression, Lasso Regression, Neural Network, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting, and XGBoost) were developed. Among the curvilinear regression models, the cubic model demonstrated the best performance, with the female maxillary-specific model achieving a mean absolute error (MAE) of 4.95 years. Machine learning models demonstrated superior accuracy. Specifically, the sex- and tooth position-specific XGBoost model for female maxillary first molars achieved an MAE of 3.14 years (R² = 0.87). This represents a significant 36.5% reduction in error compared to the optimal cubic regression model. These findings demonstrate that PCV measurements in first molars, combined with machine learning algorithms (specifically XGBoost), effectively overcome the limitations of traditional methods, providing a highly precise and reproducible approach for forensic age estimation.