Bianca Gelbrich1, Corinna Carl2,3, Götz Gelbrich2,4. 1. Department of Orthodontics, University Hospital Leipzig, Liebigstraße, 10-14/Building 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. Bianca.Gelbrich@medizin.uni-leipzig.de. 2. Institute of Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, University of Würzburg, Am Schwarzenberg 15/Building A15, 97078, Würzburg, Germany. 3. Department of Orthodontics, University Hospital Würzburg, Pleicherwall 2, 97070, Würzburg, Germany. 4. Clinical Trial Center Würzburg, University Hospital Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Str. 2/Building D7, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: In 1973, Demirjian and colleagues introduced a staging for tooth mineralization. Staging of the teeth of the left mandible generates a dental maturity score and an estimate of dental age. An update of this method was published in 2001 by Willems and colleagues. The London Atlas (2008) is another method used to assess dental age. This study compared the precision of these three methods for forensic age estimation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 500 panoramic images of 251 boys and 249 girls aged 6-16 years had dental maturity evaluated by the same observer using the London Atlas and the methods of Demirjian and Willems. Individuals with syndromes potentially affecting dental maturation were excluded. The three methods were compared with respect to their precision in estimating chronological age. RESULTS: Age estimates using Willems' method were significantly more precise than those obtained using Demirjian's method, while estimates obtained using the London Atlas method were comparable with both the others. The highest precision was obtained using the average of age estimates from Willems' method and the London Atlas. CONCLUSIONS: To estimate age in individuals suspected of being below 16 years of age, we suggest first applying the London Atlas then computing age from the Demirjian stages of particular teeth using Willems' method, and finally using the average age estimate of both methods. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Combining the London Atlas and Willems' scoring method provides more precise estimates of dental age than the current practice of applying a single preferred method.
OBJECTIVES: In 1973, Demirjian and colleagues introduced a staging for tooth mineralization. Staging of the teeth of the left mandible generates a dental maturity score and an estimate of dental age. An update of this method was published in 2001 by Willems and colleagues. The London Atlas (2008) is another method used to assess dental age. This study compared the precision of these three methods for forensic age estimation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 500 panoramic images of 251 boys and 249 girls aged 6-16 years had dental maturity evaluated by the same observer using the London Atlas and the methods of Demirjian and Willems. Individuals with syndromes potentially affecting dental maturation were excluded. The three methods were compared with respect to their precision in estimating chronological age. RESULTS: Age estimates using Willems' method were significantly more precise than those obtained using Demirjian's method, while estimates obtained using the London Atlas method were comparable with both the others. The highest precision was obtained using the average of age estimates from Willems' method and the London Atlas. CONCLUSIONS: To estimate age in individuals suspected of being below 16 years of age, we suggest first applying the London Atlas then computing age from the Demirjian stages of particular teeth using Willems' method, and finally using the average age estimate of both methods. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Combining the London Atlas and Willems' scoring method provides more precise estimates of dental age than the current practice of applying a single preferred method.
Entities:
Keywords:
Age estimation; Demirjian stage; Dental age; Dental mineralization; London Atlas; Willems’ method
Authors: Ademir Franco; Lucas Porto; Dennis Heng; Jared Murray; Anna Lygate; Raquel Franco; Juliano Bueno; Marilia Sobania; Márcio M Costa; Luiz R Paranhos; Scheila Manica; André Abade Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2022-10-14 Impact factor: 4.996