Dental age assessment among Iranian children aged 6-13 years using the Demirjian method

Background: Many methods of age estimation have been suggested, and of these, the Demirjian method is the most frequently used. The objective of the present study is to test the accuracy of the Demirjian method for age estimation in an Iranian population. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study involving 141 boys and 170 girls selected by a convenience sampling method was carried out. Panoramic radiography was used to score the left mandibular teeth and to obtain the Demirjian tooth age. Results: The Demirjian method overestimated the age of boys by 0.34 years and girls by 0.25 years. The scatter plots showing the difference between estimated dental age and chronological age for boys and girls showed that the regression lines had a decreasing trend with age. The mean difference between estimated dental age and chronological age in boys decreased with age ( except in the oldest age group of boys). In contrast, it increased in girls between the ages of 6-8 years old, and then decreased. Conclusion: The results show that the Demirjian method is appropriate for estimating the dental age of patients, especially those belonging to the 9-13 year old age group. However, in the younger age groups, further study involving more cases is required. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.