Dental Age Estimation in Nepalese Population Using Demirjian’s 8 Teeth Method
Original Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56501/intjforensicodontol.v9i1.939Keywords:
Demirjian, dental age, estimation, Nepalese populationAbstract
Introduction: Age estimation plays a crucial role in human identification of living and dead people. Employing a radiographic examination to measure the degree of dental calcification is one of the most common methods for age estimation. A radiological age estimation approach was developed by Demirjian et al. based on the scoring of seven mandibular teeth on the left side, which was later amended to include the third molar. The method has been used to derive population-specific formulas in different contexts.
Aim: To assess the accuracy of Demirjian’s 8 teeth method using original, Indian, and Nepalese population-specific formulas in the Nepalese population.
Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional analytical study done on 140 digital orthopantomograms of patients between 6-20 years of age at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. Dental age estimation was done using the Demirjian 8 teeth method with the application of the original formula, Indian specific formula given by Acharya and Nepalese specific formula given by Subedi et al. Comparison between the chronological and dental age was done using paired t-test. The mean absolute error was used to assess the age prediction accuracy.
Results: The mean chronological age was 13.38±3.5 years. Mean dental age by Demirjian’s original formula, Indian-specific formula and Nepalese-specific formula were 12.79±3.18, 15.48±3.68 and 14.68±4.29 respectively. The mean absolute error of Demirjian’s original formula was found to be the lowest (1.28) followed by Nepalese-specific (1.78) and Indian-specific formula (2.35).
Conclusion: Demirjian’s original formula was found to be the most accurate followed by Nepalese-specific and Indian-specific formulas. Hence, further studies considering Nepalese population-specific modification of Demirjian’s method are required.
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