Dental age assessment using Demirjian's method on northern Turkish children

Tooth formation is widely used to assess maturity and to predict age. Within clinical dentistry, such information aids in diagnosis and treatment planning. Numerous methods exist that allow either the prediction of age or an assessment of maturation. One widely used method was first described in 1973 by Demirjian et al., as based on a large number of French-Canadian children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the applicability of Demirjian's method for dental age estimation and for description of mandibular permanent tooth formation in northern Turkish children, 4-12 years of age. Panoramic radiographs of 900 healthy, northern Turkish children, 4-12 years of age were examined with Demirjian's method. Panoramic radiographs were scored by one examiner. Dental age was compared to chronological age by using a paired t-test. The median age for individual teeth for each stage was calculated. The northern Turkish children were generally advanced in dental maturity compared with the children in Demirjian's sample. The mean difference between dental and chronologic ages of boys and girls varied from 0.36 to 1.43 years and 0.50-1.44 years, respectively. The standards of dental age described by Demirjian et al. in 1973 and 1976 may not be suitable for northern Turkish children. Each population of children may need their own specific standard for an accurate estimation of chronological age.