Evaluation of the accuracy of Demirjian method in estimating chronological age

Background and Aim:  Age estimation is one of the most important issues in forensic medicine, legal cases and orthodontic treatment. One of the most famous methods which is based on the maturity of teeth for determining dental age is Demirjian method. Due to the inconsistency of the results of studies conducted on different people groups, the present study was done to evaluate the accuracy of Demirjian method in estimating the chronological age of Iranian 12-16 years-old Iranian people. Material and Methods: This retrospective study was performed on 50 orthopantomograms that met the inclusion criteria. Dental age was determined by Demirjian method and compared with the chronological age of the subjects separated by gender and age groups. The correlation coefficient between dental age and chronological age was calculated  using paired  T-test in order to show their relationship, and finally, the linear regression equation was presented. Results: The studied radiographs belonged to 27 girls and 23 boys with a mean age of 14.02±1.45 years old. The subjects’ mean dental age was determined 14.00±1.38 years old by Demirjian method which did not show a statistically significant difference with the chronological age (P<0.4). The correlation coefficient test showed a very strong correlation between actual and estimated ages in both genders (R=0.975 in girls and R=0.969 in boys). The determined linear regression equation was Y=1.01X-0.078. Conclusion: The Demirjian method is a suitable method with high accuracy in estimating the age of the studied group.