Developmental Stages of Third Molars in 16- to 22-year-old Patients Referred to a Clinic in Rafsanjan, Iran using Demirjian and Modified Gleiser and Hunt Methods

Introdouction: Age estimation is an important issue in forensics, particularly for treatment planning and determining patients’ rights. Radiographic evaluation of the third molar developmental stage is a significant criterion for age estimation. The pattern of tooth development is largely heritable and varies from race to race. The objective of this study was to radiographically examine and compare the developmental stages of the third molars with the chronological age of Rafsanjan’s young individuals. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 215 patients aging 16–22 years that presented to a private oral and maxillofacial radiology clinic in Rafsanjan, Iran for panoramic radiography. Using the panoramic radiographs, the developmental stages of the third molars were determined and recorded using two methods: the Demirjian and Modified Gleiser and Hunt methods. The data thus obtained were statistically analyzed mean age of each developmental stage for each sex was determined and regression equations for age estimation were calculated. Results: In both developmental classification methods, males preceded females in terms of dental development (P < 0.001). Furthermore, there were strong correlations between teeth 18 and 28 and between teeth 38 and 48 in both males and females by either method (P < 0.001). Chronological age was acceptably predicted on the basis of the gender and developmental stages of the teeth 28 and 48 using both methods (R2 = 45.4%, Demirjian method R2 = 42.5%, Modified Gleiser and Hunt method). Conclusion: The results suggest that third molar developmental stages studied using panoramic radiographs could be suitable for estimating chronological age.