Age and sex related change in tooth enamel thickness of maxillary incisors measured by cone beam computed tomography.

BACKGROUND: To measure adequate enamel thickness of maxillary incisors in planning enamel reduction for a porcelain laminate veneer restoration in relation to chronological age and sex by using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in an Iraqi subpopulation.

METHODS: From 81 CBCT images, 324 maxillary incisors were examined. Enamel thickness was measured at both mesial and distal regions of the tooth in three different levels: cervical, middle, and incisal (occlusal) 1/3 at a sagittal section. Measurements were made for the following tooth areas using CBCT: facial enamel thickness at 1, 3, and 5 mm from the cementoenamel junction (CEJ), palatal enamel thickness at 5 mm from the CEJ (5 mm P), facial and palatal enamel thickness at the incisal edge (IFP), mid incisal enamel thickness (IET), and the incisal edge enamel-pulp distance (IEPD). Relationships of enamel thickness with age and sex were evaluated using Independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test and the Pearson correlation coefficient, a simple linear regression analysis used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS: Significant differences (P < 0.05) were found in terms of an inverse association between enamel thickness and chronological age at all measurements above the CEJ and the regression model for the mid-incisal enamel thickness was (R2 of 0.4). In contrast, there was an increase in IFP, palatal, and IPED enamel thickness with age. Also, significant differences were found in enamel thickness between males and females, the enamel being thicker in females in relation to facial enamel thickness, enamel palatal thickness above CEJ and IET, while for IEPD, the enamel thickness was greater in males compared to females.

CONCLUSION: The measurements for enamel thickness outcome variables in relation to chronological age revealed significant differences for each measured distance and there were statistically significant differences in enamel thickness between males and females at all measurements except at IFP. These results demonstrate that CBCT can be used for noninvasive, accurate measurements of enamel thickness in both sex.