Dental age estimation in children with chromosomal syndromes

When the age of an individual is unknown, age assessment refers to the procedures through which authorities try to establish the chronological age of an individual. Dental evidence demonstrated to be very effective in estimating age and dental mineralization is largely deemed a process scarcely influenced by major diseases and nutritional or environmental factors which can affect child growth. This research aims to understand the possible influence of genetic syndromes on dental maturation of affected individuals. The sample is composed of a test sample of 159 chromosomal affected children, 69 males and 90 females, and a control sample of 157 healthy children, 77 males and 80 females aged between 4,49 and 19,8years. London Atlas was applied to estimate dental age on OPGs (orthopantompographies). No statistical significant difference has been found in dental estimates between syndromic and healthy individuals. Moreover no statistical significant difference emerged between sexes and age cohorts. Children affected by Down or Williams syndromes nor mean error neither the mean accuracy per cohort of age show differences compared to non-affected subjects. The London Atlas can be validly applied to age estimation of individuals with multiple agenesis as in Down and Williams syndromes, even if it a slight overestimation of age occurs systematically in syndromic as well as in healthy samples. The current findings suggest that dental maturation is a very stable biological process scarcely affected by even serious illnesses as genetic syndromes.