Exploring the association between skeletal malocclusions and dental maturity in German children and adolescents : A retrospective cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the association between skeletal malocclusions and dental maturity in a German population.

METHODS

A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted with 542 patients (274 males, 268 females) aged 6-16 years from Germany. Skeletal sagittal malocclusions were classified as class I, II, or III according to the ANB, and vertical growth patterns of the mandible were determined using the Articulare-Gonion-Menton angle. Dental maturity was estimated using the Demirjian method on panoramic radiographs, and the deviation between dental age and chronological age (delta) was calculated.

RESULTS

Among the sample, 43.9% presented skeletal class I, 41.5% class II, and 14.6% class III malocclusions. In our study population, mandibular vertical growth patterns were distributed as 53.5% normodivergent, 43.4% hyperdivergent (vertical), and 3.1% hypodivergent (horizontal). The mean chronological age was 11.6 years, while the mean dental age was 11.7 years, with an average delta of 0.08 (standard deviation = 1.2) years. No significant correlations were found between dental age deviation and the chosen cephalometric variables (p > 0.05). No significant associations were found between dental age deviation and sagittal and vertical malocclusions (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Skeletal malocclusions were not associated with deviations in dental maturity in this German sample. These findings indicate that dental development occurs independently of skeletal discrepancies, supporting the reliability of the Demirjian method across clinical and research contexts.