Accuracy of Age Estimation Using Three Dental Age Estimation Methods in a Young, Large, and Multiethnic Patient Sample

oleh: Claire Willmann, Gabriel Fernandez De Grado, Céline Kolb, Jean-Sébastien Raul, Anne-Marie Musset, Catherine-Isabelle Gros, Damien Offner

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-12-01

Deskripsi

European countries have become host countries for migrants and unaccompanied minors. However, many migrants arrive without identity documents. Many methods exist to estimate age; among them, several methods using dental age have been proposed. Our objective was to evaluate the accuracy of biological age determination in a multiethnic sample using dental age estimated using three methods: Nolla, Demirjian, and the London Atlas. Orthopantomograms collected for 324 patients of various ethnicities aged from 4 to 20 years old were included. Then, for each orthopantomogram, a blind trained examiner used the three methods of age estimation. For each method, the estimated mean age was greater than the real mean age (<i>p</i> < 0.0001). The accuracy after 18 years old with a 1-year margin was under 50%. Demirjian’s method gave a less accurate estimated age than Nolla’s method (<i>p</i> < 0.0001) or the London Atlas (<i>p</i> < 0.001). The most accurate methods were those of Nolla and the London Atlas, with average absolute deviations of 1.3 and 1.2 years, respectively. Demirjian’s method was much less accurate, with a deviation of around 2 years. The evaluated methods are unable to provide reliable information to determine if an individual is a minor.