Third-molar mineralization and eruption correlated to chronologic age in Turkish children and adolescents

Abstract

The number of criminal cases involving Turkish juveniles has increased in recent years. To date, there is no method for chronological age estimation according to third-molar mineralization in Western Turkish children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to investigate the mandibular third molar development according to the eight stages (A–H) of the Demirjian method and to compare third-molar development according to gender and age with previous data. The digital orthopantomograms of 1120 white Turkish children (406 boys, mean age 15.17 ± 3.80 years, and 714 girls, mean age 16.83 ± 3.59 years) aged 7 to 22 years, from the Western Anatolia region were retrospectively reviewed. The Turkish population reached stage H at a mean age of 20 years in both genders. Dental mineralization in Western Turkish children was delayed at stages D–G but advanced at stage H compared with that in Turkish children in other regions. Third molar root development can reliably estimate the mean age and age range for a juvenile of unknown chronological age, especially compared with the standard deviation obtained using other techniques for calculating the skeletal age of the hand-wrist or long bones.