Applicability of Willems methods and Demirjian’s four teeth method for dental age estimation: Cross sectional study on Tunisian sub-adults

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate and compare the applicability of three dental methods for age estimation, including Demirjian’s four teeth, Willems I, and Willems II methods in a sample of Tunisian children. Panoramic radiographs of 500 children (241 females, 259 males) aged between 5 and 15 years were examined. The mean absolute error (MAE) was performed to assess the accuracy of age estimation. Independent samples t-test was employed to compare the differences, the chronological age minus dental age (CA-DA), between sexes for the three methods.All of the three methods underestimated the chronological age on the average, and almost for all age groups. The discrepancy between the chronological age and the estimated age was most frequently observed for ages above 8 years for all methods.In our study, the Demirjian’s four teeth method underestimated the chronological age by 0.45 years for males and 0.32 years for females, with no significant difference (p=0.124). Whereas the Willems I method is indicted for underestimating the chronological age by 0.40 years for males, and by 0.69 years for females. Willems II method underestimated age by 0.91, and 0.64 years for males and females, respectively.It is established that the Demirjian’s four teeth method was more accurate in estimating the dental age than the Willems I and II methods, with a mean absolute error of 0.76 years for males and 0.79 years for females (MAE=1.10, and 0.98 years for the Willems I/1.02, and 0.92 years for the Willems II).According to the results, it is highly recommended that the Demirjian’s four teeth method should be applied when estimating the dental age in Tunisian males and females. In forensic cases, when the sex is unknown or doubted, the Willems II method could be appropriate.