Radiographic evaluation of third molars development in relation to chronological age among children and youth in Aden city

Abstract EN

The only tool available to estimate the age of individuals is the third molar after puberty, which plays an important role in forensic science.

This research aims at assessing an individual's chronological age based on the third molar's stage of dental growth according to Demirjian's model.

A comprehensive cross-sectional sample of 950 orthopantomorgrams consisting of 530 with known age and sex and ranging from 16 to 23 years of age was obtained from a Diagnostic Medical Center in Aden City/Yemen, between 2017-2018.

The mean age at the early stage of development, (A&D) was lower for males than females.

Later growth in females in maxillary molars was the stage (E&G), but later in mandibular molars in males.

Earlier in the four molars, the complete eruption of the third molar (H) stage was in females.

There was a strong association between the developmental stages of maxillary molars in females and lower (right and left) molars and third molars in females between upper (right and left).

As the results show that, in the case of completion of the roots of the third molars in stage (H), the likelihood of an adult being over 18 years of age in the case of full development wisdom is 100% in females when one molar or more was found, but it is 66.7% in males when one molar is present, and 100% when two or more molars are present.

We concluded that the third stage of molar development is one of the few tools we can use to evaluate the age when the development is close to completion and it can be assumed that individuals with complete x-ray calcification of the third molar at (GH) stages are over 18 years, while those at the (E-F) stages are probably under 18 years of age.