Relationship between dental and skeletal maturation in Danish schoolchildren

Spearman correlation coefficients between the number of emerged permanent teeth and RUS (TW2 method) skeletal maturity scores were calculated among 1412 boys and 1332 girls, aged 7-14 yr, divided into 3-month age groups. "Moving averages" are presented of the correlation coefficients for every four 3-month age groups at a time. The pattern of the correlations differed between the sexes. However, in general, weak associations were found (mean r = 0.15-0.16), but correlations were significant at the 1% level in 8.5-9.5-yr-old girls and around 12 yr in both sexes. It is argued that skeletal, rather than dental, maturity should be assessed in adopted non-European children of unknown chronologic age.