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Accuracy of different dental age estimation methods for determining the legal majority of 18 years in the Turkish population

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Abstract

Objectives

Radiographic evaluation of the third molar maturation is used to estimate dental age, especially in adolescence. This study aimed to assess the application of three age estimation methods (Cameriere’s third molar maturity index (I3M), Demirjian’s maturation stages, and The London Atlas) to determine whether an individual is 18 years or older (adult) or younger than 18 years (minor).

Materials and methods

The dental age was estimated using the I3M, Demirjian’s maturation stages, and The London Atlas methods on panoramic radiograms of a total of 500 Turkish individuals aged 14–22 years. A logistic model was derived with an individual’s adult or minor status as the dependent variable, and each method and sex as predictive variables. The adult status was determined using dental age estimation methods and the performance of these methods in differentiating adults from minors was evaluated. The three methods were compared case-wise for their accuracy in predicting adult status.

Results

Logistic regression analysis showed that sex and each estimation method were statistically significant in discriminating adults and minors (p < 0.05). In the case-wise comparison for estimate adulthood, both Demirjian’s stages and I3M methods tended to perform better than the London Atlas method, with this trend reaching statistical significance (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Cameriere’s I3M and Demirjian’s development stages are useful methods for adult age assessment in the tested population.

Clinical relevance

In forensic medicine and legal practices, Cameriere’s I3M and Demirjian’s maturation stage methods based on the development of the third molar teeth can be used to determine whether an individual is a minor or an adult.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Antalya, Turkey

    Hayri Akman & Koray Surme

  2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Antalya, Turkey

    Tansu Cimen

  3. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Kütahya Health Sciences University, Kütahya, Turkey

    Halil Ayyildiz

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  1. Hayri Akman
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  2. Koray Surme
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  4. Halil Ayyildiz
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Correspondence to Tansu Cimen.

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Ethics approval

Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical Committee of Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Antalya, Turkey (approval number: 2020/22–37). All procedures followed were by the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008.

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Patients were not exposed to any additional radiation for this study, but informed consent was obtained from the patients’ parents for their data to be used for scientific purposes.

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Akman, H., Surme, K., Cimen, T. et al. Accuracy of different dental age estimation methods for determining the legal majority of 18 years in the Turkish population. Clin Oral Invest 26, 4537–4547 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-022-04417-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-022-04417-w

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