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Chronology of third molar mineralization in a northern Chinese population

Die Chronologie der Mineralisation der dritten Molaren in einer nordchinesischen Population

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Abstract

Dental age estimation is of great importance for individual identification in forensic medicine and many other fields. The present study aimed to provide reference data for chronological aging based on mineralization of third molars in a northern Chinese population. A total of 3212 digital orthopantomograms from 1551 males and 1661 females of northern Chinese origin ranging in age from 5 to 25 years were assessed. The mineralization status of the third molars was assessed using the formation stages described by Demirjian et al. with two modifications. Results showed that left and right third molars were generally at similar stages of mineralization. The third molars 18 at stage D, 28 at stage D, 38 at stage D and 48 at stages B and G showed significantly lower mean ages in males than in females. In comparison to different ethnic groups there were some significant differences in the chronological course of third molar mineralization. As possible causes of these differences, ancestry, socioeconomic status, eating habits and statistical phenomena, such as age range and age distribution of samples are discussed.

Zusammenfassung

Die zahnärztliche Altersschätzung ist in der Rechtsmedizin und in vielen anderen Gebieten von großer Bedeutung für die individuelle Identifizierung. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie besteht darin, Referenzdaten für die Schätzung des chronologischen Alters auf der Grundlage der Mineralisation der dritten Molaren zur Verfügung zu stellen. Hierfür wurden insgesamt 3212 digitale Orthopantomogramme von 1551 männlichen und 1661 weiblichen Personen nordchinesischer Herkunft der Altersgruppe 5 bis 25 Jahre ausgewertet. Zur Bestimmung der Mineralisationsstadien wurde die Klassifikation von Demirjian et al. mit zwei Modifikationen verwendet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich die linken und rechten dritten Molaren in ähnlichen Mineralisationsstadien befanden. Signifikante Geschlechtsdifferenzen wurden für die Zähne 18, 28 und 38 im Stadium D und für den Zahn 48 in den Stadien B und G beobachtet, wobei die Mittelwerte des Alters bei den männlichen Personen jeweils kleiner als die der weiblichen Personen waren. Im Vergleich mit anderen ethnischen Gruppen zeigten sich unterschiedliche zeitliche Verläufe der Mineralisation der dritten Molaren. Herkunft, sozioökonomischer Status, Ernährungsgewohnheiten und statistische Phänomene wie Altersspannbreite und Altersverteilung werden als mögliche Ursachen dieser Unterschiede diskutiert.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Arto Demirjian (Department of Stomatology, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Montreal, Canada) and in particular Dr. Robert B.J. Dorion (Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale, Ministère de la Sécurité Publique du Québec, Canada) for their comments, encouragement and many helpful suggestions in the writing of this article. This work was supported by the China Scholarship Council.

Compliance with ethical guidelines

Conflict of interest. Yu-cheng Guo, Xing-wei Lin, Wen-tao Zhang, Chun-xia Yan, Feng Pan, Ting-lin Yan, Ju-ping Li, Teng Chen, Andreas Schmeling and Hong Zhou state that there are no conflicts of interest. All studies on humans described in the present manuscript were carried out with the approval of the responsible ethics committee and in accordance with national law and the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 (in its current, revised form). Informed consent was obtained from all patients included in studies.

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Correspondence to H. Zhou.

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Guo, YC., Lin, XW., Zhang, WT. et al. Chronology of third molar mineralization in a northern Chinese population. Rechtsmedizin 25, 34–39 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00194-014-0998-6

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