Dental age Determination: Testing Standard Methods on SA Children

Standard methods of dental age determination have been used to estimate the ages of skeletal remains of children throughout the world with varying success. These age determination charts were developed from children of American, Canadian and European origin. Aim: The aim of this research was to test the accuracy of the age determination methods of Moorrees et al (1963) and Demirjian et al (1973) on a sample of South African children of known chronological age. Methods: The pantomographic radiographs of 700 children (362 females, 338 males) between the age of 4 to 14 years were used. The age estimation methods of Moorrees et al & Demirjian et al were applied to each radiograph to determine the dental age. The estimated ages were compared to the chronological age for each child. Results: The age estimation method of Moorrees et al significantly under estimates the real age. The method of Demirjian et al significantly over estimates the real age. A combination of both methods significantly improves the age estimation. Conclusion: The standard methods of dental age estimation do not apply to South African children. A new method is more accurate.