Dental age assessment validity of radiographic methods on Serbian children population

Abstract

In order to establish reliable age estimation method based on dental development, various correlations between chronological age and real growth were tested. Demirjian's scheme was mostly used, but lately the Willems' method has been found to be more reliable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of Demirjian's and Willems' methods for dental age estimation in Serbian children population. The study sample encompassed panoramic radiographs of 686 children (322 boys and 364 girls) with age range from 4 to 15 years. The dental age was assed using Demirjian's and Willems' maturity scores. Statistical analysis was performed to test the accuracy of investigated methods by comparing the mean chronological and mean estimated age in total sample, as well as in each group comprising individuals within one-year-age-interval. Both methods showed discrepancy between obtained and chronological age. The Demirjian's method overestimated age with a mean accuracy of 0.45 in boys and 0.42 in girls, while Willems' method showed lower discrepancy (0.12 and 0.16 in boys and girls, respectively). Overall, both methods were unsatisfactory in some age groups, however, Willems' method provided more accurate age estimation in majority of categories. In summary, our results suggest that Willem's method was more accurate for estimating dental age in contemporary Serbian children population.