Dental Age Estimation using Panoramic Radiographs: A Study on Children in North Central Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Age estimation is very important in forensic medicine, not only for identification of victims, but also in crimes
and accidents. This study aimed to evaluate the applicability and compare the accuracy of Demirjian, Willems I, and Willems II methods for dental age estimation in children in North central Nigeria using panoramic radiographs.
Methods: This study was a retrospective study of panoramic radiographs from 70 children aged 7 to 17 years from a tertiary health institution North central Nigeria. Chronological age was calculated as the difference between the date of birth and the date on which the radiograph was made. Dental age was calculated using the Demirjian, Willems I and Willems II methods. Data was analyzed with SPSS VERSION 20.
Results:  The chronological mean age of the boys and girls was 10.63±2.58 and 11.60±3.20 respectively. A mean difference (CA-DA) of 0.58/0.85, 0.01/0.03, 0.15/-0.11, was observed for Demirjian's , Willems I and Willems II methods for males and females respectively. The three tested methods underestimated the mean chronological age of males and females except the Willems II method which overestimated the mean age of the females.
Conclusion:  The level of accuracy of these three methods in the children of North central,Nigerian population is acceptable. Demirjian's seven teeth method is recommended for age prediction in both sexes as it reveals highest correlation value with the chronological age. In forensic cases, when the sex is doubted, the Willems II method is appropriate