Dental Age in Orthodontic Patients with Different Skeletal Patterns

Individual dental and skeletal age assessment according to Demirjian and Baccetti: Updated norm values for Central-European patients

PURPOSE

Chronological age often differs from dental and skeletal age. With orthopantomograms and lateral cephalograms, dental and skeletal development can be determined according to the methods published by Demirjian et al. and Baccetti et al. However, gender and skeletal class as possible confounders were frequently not considered and available norm values are not up-to-date. This retrospective cross-sectional study thus aimed to evaluate effects of skeletal class and gender on dental and skeletal age of growing patients and to generate updated norm values for contemporary Central-European patients.

METHODS

A total of 551 patients were included in the dental and 733 in the skeletal age assessment, respectively. Dental analysis was based on tooth mineralisation stages in orthopantomograms (Demirjian) and skeletal age was defined by cervical vertebrae maturation stages (CVMS) in lateral cephalograms (Baccetti). Skeletal class was determined by the individualised ANB angle of Panagiotidis/Witt. With nonlinear regression analysis a formula for determining dental age was established. Effects of gender and skeletal class were evaluated and updated norm values generated.

RESULTS

Inter- and intrarater reliability tests revealed at least substantial measurement concordance for tooth mineralisation and CVMS. Demirjian stages and CVMS significantly depended on gender with girls developing earlier. Skeletal class significantly affected skeletal age only, but without clinical relevance. Updated norm values for dental age differed significantly from the original values of Demirjian and the values for skeletal age differed from those published by Baccetti.

CONCLUSION

Optimised norms, separated by gender, increase precision in determining individual dental and skeletal age during orthodontic treatment planning. Further studies analysing the effect of skeletal class on dental and skeletal development are needed.

Association between dental age and malocclusions: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The evidence in the literature suggests that some skeletal or dental malocclusions are involved with dental development, resulting in advanced or delayed dental age (DA). The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the association between DA and different types of malocclusions.

METHODS

The search was carried out on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Virtual Health Library, and in the gray literature. Observational studies that evaluated the association between DA and sagittal, vertical, or transversal malocclusions were included. The quality assessment was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). The data from primary studies were narratively synthesized. The certainty of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE approach. The study was conducted from August 2023 to October 2023.

RESULTS

One Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety-One records were identified in the initial search. Twenty (n = 20) studies were included. Most of the studies (n=15) presented a moderate quality according to NOS. Twelve studies evaluated the association between DA and sagittal discrepancies; eight studies evaluated vertical discrepancies, and only one study analyzed a transversal discrepancy. Demirjian's method for DA assessment was the most used among the studies. The primary studies observed that patients of both sexes presenting a vertical growth pattern and males with skeletal Class III malocclusion tend to have advanced DA. The study that investigated transversal malocclusion found that unilateral posterior cross-bite is associated with delayed DA. The certainty of evidence was very low for all outcomes evaluated.

CONCLUSION

DA may be associated with the type of malocclusion. It is suggested that DA can be used as an initial diagnostic tool in orthodontics. Future well-designed studies should be performed in order to investigate the association between DA and different types of malocclusions in more detail.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42023454207).

A systematic overview of dental methods for age assessment in living individuals: from traditional to artificial intelligence-based approaches

Dental radiographies have been used for many decades for estimating the chronological age, with a view to forensic identification, migration flow control, or assessment of dental development, among others. This study aims to analyse the current application of chronological age estimation methods from dental X-ray images in the last 6 years, involving a search for works in the Scopus and PubMed databases. Exclusion criteria were applied to discard off-topic studies and experiments which are not compliant with a minimum quality standard. The studies were grouped according to the applied methodology, the estimation target, and the age cohort used to evaluate the estimation performance. A set of performance metrics was used to ensure good comparability between the different proposed methodologies. A total of 613 unique studies were retrieved, of which 286 were selected according to the inclusion criteria. Notable tendencies to overestimation and underestimation were observed in some manual approaches for numeric age estimation, being especially notable in the case of Demirjian (overestimation) and Cameriere (underestimation). On the other hand, the automatic approaches based on deep learning techniques are scarcer, with only 17 studies published in this regard, but they showed a more balanced behaviour, with no tendency to overestimation or underestimation. From the analysis of the results, it can be concluded that traditional methods have been evaluated in a wide variety of population samples, ensuring good applicability in different ethnicities. On the other hand, fully automated methods were a turning point in terms of performance, cost, and adaptability to new populations.

The bridging and normal dimensions of sella turcica in Yemeni individuals

Objective

This study aimed to evaluate and compare sizes, shapes and bridging of the sella turcica (ST) in Yemeni individuals with different skeletal patterns, genders, and ages, and to assess the association between the linear dimension of ST and gender, age, or skeletal patterns. The standard anatomical structure of ST among Yemeni subjects is still unknown and this study can be considered as the first reference regarding ST of Yemeni individuals.

Materials and methods

Cephalogram images for 234 subjects (167 females and 67 males) were traced and classified for groups by gender, age, and dentofacial skeletal patterns. Size, shape, and bridging of ST were assessed. Multivariate ANOVA (MANOVA) analysis was used to detect the interaction between gender, age, and skeletal patterns on ST dimensions.

Results

The mean values for length, anteroposterior diameter, and depth of ST were 8.02 ± 1.67, 11.37 ± 1.60, and 8.56 ± 1.26 mm, respectively. A significant difference in length of ST between gender and age stages (p < 0.05) was detected while older subjects revealed a greater anteroposterior diameter than younger subjects (p < 0.05). The morphological variations of ST were observed in 55.6% of samples. No significant association between the shape of ST and skeletal patterns (p > 0.05) was found.

Conclusions

ST bridging was highly prevalent in Yemeni subjects (35.9%). Samples showed a higher rate of complete ST bridging in the three skeletal patterns, Class I (17.1%), Class II (18.9%), and Class III (20%). ST dimensions and shape findings in this study can be used as reference standards for further investigation, including the ST area in the Yemeni population.

Age Estimation Using the Cameriere Methods of Open Apices: A Meta-Analysis

Purpose: To evaluate the actual variability of the mean difference between chronological and dental age using the Cameriere method of open apices and to test its accuracy in variable age groups. Method: We selected studies that contained data about the mean, standard deviation, and number of cases for chronological age, dental age and gender. We used a random-effects model. Statistical significance was estimated, at a p < 0.05, using prediction intervals. For the analysis of publication bias we used the funnel plot and Egger’s regression test for plot asymmetry. I² was used to test the presence of heterogeneity between studies. The Z test was used to test for statistical differences between subgroups, with p < 0.05 being considered statistically significant. We also used 95% for confidence intervals and prediction intervals. Results: In boys, the average difference between chronological and dental age was 0.44 (0.26–0.63) years, while in girls the average difference between chronological and dental age was 0.34 (0.19–0.49) years. In the 6–7 years age group and in the 14–15 years age group, there was a statistically significant difference between dental and chronological age. Our study shows that the Cameriere method is useful for estimating the chronological age, with errors of less than one year. Conclusions: The Cameriere method of evaluating dental age using open apices is sufficiently accurate for forensic practice, at least in the 7–14 age-interval.

Brief Report: Estimating the Dental Age of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Determining a patient's dental age is essential from the dental standpoint but can also have connotations of a forensic, anthropological and medicolegal nature. In this study, we assessed the correspondence between dental age and chronological age in a group of 50 children with autism spectrum disorders, with a chronological age range of 3-17 years. The dental age was calculated using panoramic radiography images, applying linear regression models derived from the classical indices by Nolla and Demirjian. In 2 of every 3 boys, the dental age was ahead of the chronological age, and in almost 1 of every 3 cases, the difference was ≥ 12 months. In the girls, conversely, we found no significant differences between dental age and chronological age.

The morphology and bridging of the sella turcica in adult orthodontic patients

Background

The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the shapes, sizes, and bridging of the sella turcica in patients with different skeletal patterns and genders.

Methods

It was a cross-sectional comparative study. The samples were divided into three groups according to the skeletal pattern viz. Class I, Class II and Class III, and each group consisted of 40 samples (20 males and 20 females). The lateral cephalograms were traced and the sella turcica was assessed for its size, shape, and bridging.

Results

The mean length, anteroposterior diameter and depth of sella turcica were 8.13 ± 2.03 mm, 9.60 ± 1.43 mm and 6.40 ± 1.21 mm respectively. The mean length of sella turcica was 7.91 ± 1.52 mm in Class I, 7.32 ± 1.62 mm in Class II and 9.16 ± .2.42 in Class III skeletal pattern; anteroposterior diameter was 9.30 ± 1.02 mm in Class I, 9.15 ± 1.28 mm in Class II and 10.35 ± 1.64 mm in Class III skeletal pattern; and the depth was 6.40 ± 0.92 mm in Class I, 6.07 ± 1.01 mm in Class II and 6.74 ± .1.54 mm in Class III skeletal pattern. There were significant differences in length and anteroposterior diameter and sella turcica between Class I, Class II and Class III skeletal patterns (p = 0.01), (p = 0.01) respectively. There was no significant difference in size of sella turcica between different genders and age groups. Sixty percent of the patients studied had normal Sella morphology. Partial Sella turcica bridging and Sella turcica bridging was seen in this study in 23.33% and 11.67% of patients respectively.

Conclusion

Sixty percent of the patients had normal sella turcica. There were significant differences in lengths and anteroposterior diameters among Class I, Class II and Class III patients. The larger size was present in skeletal Class III patients.

Comparison between Two Radiological Methods for Assessment of Tooth Root Resorption: An In Vitro Study

Purpose

This study aims to verify the validity of the radiographic image and the most effective radiological techniques for the diagnosis of root resorption to prevent, cure, and reduce it and to verify if radiological images can be helpful in medical and legal situations.

Methods

19 dental elements without root resorption extracted from several patients were examined: endooral and panoramic radiographs were performed, with traditional and digital methods. Then the root of each tooth was dipped into 3-4 mm of 10% nitric acid for 24 hours to simulate the resorption of the root and later submitted again to radiological examinations and measurements using the same criteria and methods.

Results

For teeth with root resorption the real measurements and the values obtained with endooral techniques and digital sensors are almost the same, while image values obtained by panoramic radiographs are more distorted than the real ones.

Conclusions

Panoramic radiographs are not useful for the diagnosis of root resorption. The endooral examination is, in medical and legal fields, the most valid and objective instrument to detect root resorption. Although the literature suggests that CBCT is a reliable tool in detecting root resorption defects, the increased radiation dosage and expense and the limited availability of CBCT in most clinical settings accentuate the outcome of this study.