IADR Abstract Archives
Age estimation of Colombian individuals using the London Atlas
Objectives: Evaluate the accuracy of the London Atlas for dental age estimation the Colombian population.
Methods: The study sample included 580 panoramic radiographs of patients (304 female and 276 male) that had attended an orthodontic clinics in two cities between 2016 and 2019. The range of ages of the individuals was between 6 and 23.99 years old. Patients with a history of dentoalveolar injury or trauma, unclear or distorted panoramic radiographs were excluded from the study. The left maxillary and mandibular teeth were evaluated to determine their developmental and eruption stages. The London Atlas software (ttps://atlas.dentistry.qmul.ac.uk/?app=1) generated the estimated age. The intra/interobserver error was determined using the Cohen-Kappa index taking 40 radiographs and evaluating at two different times. The IBM-SPSS program was used for statistical analysis. The difference between the estimated age and the chronological age for each individual was determined; positive values were considered as overestimates and negative values as underestimation. The estimated age was compared with the chronological age using a paired t-test. Pearson's Correlation Coefficient was used to measure the association between the two ages. The radiographs were categorized as having estimated ages within 12 months (-1 to +1 year) or over 12 months (>1 year, <-1 year) of the chronological age. The study was approved by the Bioethics Committee.
Results: Cohen's Kappa test showed a strong agreement. Differences between estimated and chronological ages were significant for age groups 17, 18, 21, 22, and 23 (p<0.001). Three hundred and twenty (55.17%) of the individuals were estimated to the exact age interval. Pearson's correlation coefficient suggests a strong linear correlation between chronological age and the ages estimated (P<0.001;r=0.953)
Conclusions: The London Atlas estimated dental age with acceptable precision in most groups, however it should be used with caution when the third molar is used as a decision tooth for age estimation.
Methods: The study sample included 580 panoramic radiographs of patients (304 female and 276 male) that had attended an orthodontic clinics in two cities between 2016 and 2019. The range of ages of the individuals was between 6 and 23.99 years old. Patients with a history of dentoalveolar injury or trauma, unclear or distorted panoramic radiographs were excluded from the study. The left maxillary and mandibular teeth were evaluated to determine their developmental and eruption stages. The London Atlas software (ttps://atlas.dentistry.qmul.ac.uk/?app=1) generated the estimated age. The intra/interobserver error was determined using the Cohen-Kappa index taking 40 radiographs and evaluating at two different times. The IBM-SPSS program was used for statistical analysis. The difference between the estimated age and the chronological age for each individual was determined; positive values were considered as overestimates and negative values as underestimation. The estimated age was compared with the chronological age using a paired t-test. Pearson's Correlation Coefficient was used to measure the association between the two ages. The radiographs were categorized as having estimated ages within 12 months (-1 to +1 year) or over 12 months (>1 year, <-1 year) of the chronological age. The study was approved by the Bioethics Committee.
Results: Cohen's Kappa test showed a strong agreement. Differences between estimated and chronological ages were significant for age groups 17, 18, 21, 22, and 23 (p<0.001). Three hundred and twenty (55.17%) of the individuals were estimated to the exact age interval. Pearson's correlation coefficient suggests a strong linear correlation between chronological age and the ages estimated (P<0.001;r=0.953)
Conclusions: The London Atlas estimated dental age with acceptable precision in most groups, however it should be used with caution when the third molar is used as a decision tooth for age estimation.