[Application of a modified stage classification in evaluating wisdom tooth eruption in a German population]

The evaluation of the eruption status of the wisdom teeth constitutes a significant component of the spectrum of dental methods available for purposes of forensic age diagnostics. In the present study, the status of wisdom tooth eruption was identified in 606 conventionally created orthopantomograms of 515 female and 91 male Germans, divided by sex and tooth, using a modified classification comprising four stages. Instead of the original stage C (gingival eruption) which cannot always be reliably identified on X-ray images of suboptimal quality, stage C of the modified classification was considered reached when the erupting wisdom tooth had reached at least half the length of the crown of the adjacent second molar, without however having yet reached the occlusal plane. The new stage classification is especially recommended for age estimation based on X-ray images in which a conclusive delimitation of the gingiva is not possible.