Comparison of accuracy of different dental age estimation methods in Finn and Turkish populations

Age determination in children is frequently used in fields such as pediatric dentistry, orthodontics and pediatric endocrinology. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of Demirjian's and Cameriere's method for Finn and Turkish children. Children aged 6-15 years, who applied to Hacettepe University Pediatric Dentistry Department and Oulu University Endodontics, Cariology and Pedodontics Department for treatment purposes, whose X-rays were taken between 1 June 2019 and 31 December 2019 for diagnosis and treatment were included in the study. Left mandibular teeth (except third molars) were examined using methods defined by Cameriere and Demirjian. Age was determined for two populations using Cameriere's European Formula and Demirjian's method. The comparison of the mean difference between estimated age and the chronological age was evaluated and the difference between them was analyzed using 95% confidence interval. The difference between groups was considered statistically significant at the p<0.05 level. Correlation coefficients were used to estimate the correlation between chronological age and estimated age. Differences between estimated age obtained by the Demirjian Method and chronological age of Turkish children were more than Finn children, whereas differences between estimated age obtained by Cameriere Method and chronological age of Finn children were more than Turkish children. Since the differences between chronological age and estimated age in Finnish children were statistically significant, population-specific regression model was developed. With the new formula, the difference between estimated age and chronological age was less than 1 in 78.1% of boys and 81.4% of girls. In Turkish population, when Cameriere and Demirjian methods were compared, Cameriere method was found to be more successful for both genders.