The applicability of the Carrea’s method for human height estimation through lower and upper teeth in dental models

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the applicability of the Carrea's method in its original and modified versions for human height estimation. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using 31pairs of plaster dental models from undergraduate dental students. The lower and upper models were analyzed based on the Carrea's original method (1939) and its modified version (LIMA et al., 2017), respectively. The data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics (=5%). Results: The original method estimated the actual height in 51.6% of the sample (n = 16), with an agreement of 38.7% (n = 12) for quadrant 3 and 32.3% (n = 10) for quadrant 4. Similar overall agreement was observed for the modified method (51.6%; n = 16), with a 35.5% (n = 11) and 32.3% (n = 10) agreement for quadrants 1 and 2, respectively. There was no significant difference between sexes. The original method underestimated human height in 58.1% of the sample (n =18), regardless of the quadrant analyzed, while it overestimated height in 3.2% (n = 1) of the models in quadrant 3 and in 9.7% (n = 3) in quadrant 4. The modified method underestimated height by 45.2% (n = 14) in quadrant 1 and by 38.7% (n = 12) in quadrant 2. The modified method overestimated height in 19.4% (n = 6) of the models in quadrant 1 and in 29.0% (n = 9) in quadrant 2. Low correlation coefficients were obtained between actual and estimated measurements. Conclusion: Both the original and modified Carrea's methods presented questionable applicability and should therefore be used with caution.