Applicability of the Demirjian method for dental age estimation in western Turkish children

Abstract

Objective. The aim of this study was to examine whether the Demirjian method would be appropriate for estimation of the dental age of western Turkish children. Materials and methods. This study comprised 635 Turkish children (age = 7–16 years) from the western Aegean region who were chosen on the basis of radiological evidence from digital orthopantomograms. Their dental maturity was evaluated according to the stages proposed by Demirjian. A paired t-test was used for statistical analysis. Results. The mean difference between the chronological and dental ages ranged from 0.10–0.76 years for males and from 0.28–0.87 years for females. Conclusion. The applicability of the Demirjian method is not suitable for western Turkish children and western Turkish children have a lower degree of dental maturity than that observed in the eastern, northeastern and northern Turkish subjects.

Key Words:

• Dental age
• Demirjian method
• forensic dentistry

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Osman Sami Aglarci for his support with the statistical evaluation.

Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. This study was an oral presentation at the 19th BASS Congress, 24–27 April 2014, Belgrade, Serbia.