Dental age estimation in the Chhattisgarhi population: A comparative study of Demirjian and Willems methods.

BACKGROUND

Forensic identification, pediatric dentistry, and medico-legal investigations all often utilize dental age estimation. Demirjian and Willems methods are frequently used when estimating dental maturity; however, their accuracy varies across different groups, pointing to the need for population specific validation.

AIM: Aim of the current study was to compare and assess the reliability of the Demirjian and Willems for estimating dental age in the children from the Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

METHODS

A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using 142 orthopantomograms of children aged 10-16 years. Dental age was estimated using Demirjian and Willems methods based on the developmental stages of the seven left mandibular permanent teeth. The accuracy was assessed using mean error (ME) and mean absolute error (MAE). Pearson correlation and paired t-tests were used to evaluate statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The Demirjian method showed a tendency to overestimate age in younger individuals and underestimate age in older age groups. The Willems method demonstrated comparatively smaller deviations from chronological age and often yielded better and more reliable age estimates. Both methods show positive correlation between chronological age and dental age.

CONCLUSION

The Willems method showed higher accuracy than the Demirjian method in this Chhattisgarhi population for dental age estimation.