Applicability of the Demirjian method for dental age estimation in western Turkish children

Objective. The aim of this study was to examine whether the Demirjian method would be appropriate for estimation of the dental age of western Turkish children. Materials and methods. This study comprised 635 Turkish children (age = 7-16 years) from the western Aegean region who were chosen on the basis of radiological evidence from digital orthopantomograms. Their dental maturity was evaluated according to the stages proposed by Demirjian. A paired t-test was used for statistical analysis. Results. The mean difference between the chronological and dental ages ranged from 0.10-0.76 years for males and from 0.28-0.87 years for females. Conclusion. The applicability of the Demirjian method is not suitable for western Turkish children and western Turkish children have a lower degree of dental maturity than that observed in the eastern, northeastern and northern Turkish subjects.