Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of the study was to compare two frequently used dental age estimation methods for accuracy.MethodsA total of 479 panoramic radiographs in age groups 6–14 years from a German population were evaluated. The dental age of 268 boys and 211 girls was assessed by means of the method of Demirjian (1973) and Cameriere (2006) and compared with their actual chronological age.ResultsDemirjan’s method showed an overestimation of dental age compared to chronological age in all age groups for boys (mean difference −0.16, p = 0.010, range −0.35 to 0.09), age group 9 showed an underestimation. Using the same method for girls (mean difference −0.18, p = 0.008, range −0.45 to 0.13), an overestimation could also be shown in all age groups except for age groups 8 and 13. Results for Cameriere’s method showed for boys (mean difference 0.07, p = 0.314, range −1.38 to 3.83) in age groups 6 to 11 an overestimation, but in age groups 12 to14 an underestimation. The results for girls (mean difference 0.08, p = 0.480, range −1.55 to 4.51) showed an overestimation for age groups from 6 to 10, and an underestimation in age groups 11 to 14.ConclusionsThe comparison shows an advantage of Demirjian’s method for both genders. While Cameriere’s method showed a higher inaccuracy in all age groups, Demirjian’s method showed more appropriate results for dental age estimation of the investigated German population. To avoid errors in forensic age estimation and to prevent misidentifications for defendants in criminal processes, further studies of more precise methods for age estimation for the German population are required.
Highlights
The aim of the study was to compare two frequently used dental age estimation methods for accuracy
Due to differences in dental maturation process in geographic and ethnic origin and discrepancies of results of radiographic methods used for dental age estimation [1], there is a lack of data concerning the German population
The method of Cameriere [11], that is based on the relationship between age and measurement of the open apices in teeth with a formula for European populations, and Demirjan’s method [7] investigating seven teeth on the left side of the mandible and based on a French-Canadian dataset, there is a need in investigating the two often used methods for accuracy and reliability in a German population
Summary
The aim of the study was to compare two frequently used dental age estimation methods for accuracy. Due to differences in dental maturation process in geographic and ethnic origin and discrepancies of results of radiographic methods used for dental age estimation [1], there is a lack of data concerning the German population. This is the first study, that addresses the comparison of both methods of Cameriere and Demirjian of a German sample. The aim of the recent study was to compare the two most frequently used radiographical methods of dental age estimation, the method of Demirjian [7] with the method of Cameriere [11] in a population of German children aged 6–14, to evaluate both techniques, and to demonstrate the differences
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