Publication

Abstract : Introduction: Age determination plays a great role in forensic medicine, pediatric endocrinology, and pedodontic treatment planning. It helps in the management of different types of malocclusion in relation to maxillofacial growth. The aim of the study was to determine the dental developmental stages in female population and to test the applicability of Demirjian’s and Nolla’s criteria for maturity scoring in dental age assessment. Materials and Methods: Orthopantomographs of 200 females of 8–16 years were taken and the dental age was calculated using the Demirjian’s and Nolla’s dental age estimation method. Chronological age was also recorded and correlated to the dental ages obtained. Results: A strong correlation was found between chronological and dental ages (P < 0.005). The intraclass correlation coefficient between the two methods showed excellent agreement between the two (P < 0.005). Conclusion: A positive high degree correlation noticed between chronological age, dental age, and both age estimation methods may thus be applicable to the female population in Cochin.