An attempt to predict tooth crown height using cementoenamel junction diameters and implications in the quantitative study of dental wear

Dental wear has been used extensively in osteoarchaeological studies as a means of exploring dietary patterns and the use of teeth as tools. The present paper aims to test whether crown height can be predicted for premolars and molars based on the mesiodistal and buccolingual diameters of these teeth at the level of the cementoenamel junction (CEJ). Multiple linear regression was used with crown height as dependent variable and diameters at the CEJ as predictors. Our results found that there are cases where the impact of one predictor appears to be statistically significant. However, even in these cases the 95% confidence interval for the predicted value is so broad that makes the accurate determination of the crown height based on the buccolingual or/and mesiodistal diameters at the CEJ impossible.

Cementoenamel junction · Confidence interval · Crown (dentistry) · Linear regression · Molar · Statistics · Dental Erosion and Treatment · Dental materials and restorations · Dentistry · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Mathematics · Medicine · Orthodontics