Evaluation of the Accuracy of Demirjian's Method for Dental Age Estimation in Northern Sudanese Children and Adolescents



Sara Alkholi1*, Amin Alemam2 and Nicholas Marquez-Grant3

1 Dentist at Primary HealthCare Corporation, Qatar.

2 Specialist Endodontist at Primary HealthCare Corporation, Qatar.

3 Forensic Anthropologist, Cranfield University, UK.

*Corresponding Author: Sara Alkholi, Dentist at Primary HealthCare Corporation, Qatar.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.58624/SVOADE.2023.04.0152

Received: September 19, 2023     Published: September 25, 2023

 

Abstract

A variety of methods have been used worldwide in dental age assessment in the living. However, since dental development varies between populations, population-specific studies are necessary. This study aimed at investigating the accuracy of age estimation using developing teeth from panoramic radiographs according to the method devised by Demirjian and colleagues in a sample of Northern Sudanese children and adolescents (2) Methods: A total sample of 917 X-Rays from patients aged between 6-16 years of age was available, but only 527 were suitable (265 boys, 272 girls). (3) Results: The mean difference between chronological and dental age for Northern Sudanese boys, ranged between (–0.389 to +0.571) while, for the Northern Sudanese girls, the mean difference ranged between (–0.056 to+0.732); (4) Conclusions: The results showed that the Demirjian's method did not accurately predict age in this Northern Sudanese population. Standards were produced to convert the maturity scores calculated by Demirjian's method to a new dental age assessment for Northern-Sudanese population.

Keywords: Age estimation; Dental age; Forensic anthropology; Forensic dentistry, Sudan

Citation: Alkholi S, Alemam A, Marquez-Grant N. Evaluation of the Accuracy of Demirjian's Method for Dental Age Estimation in Northern Sudanese Children and Adolescents. SVOA Dentistry 2023, 4:5, 206-218.