Document Type : مقاله‌های پژوهشی

Authors

• Manouchehr Rahmati Kamel ¹
• Valiollah Arash ¹
• Ehsan Moudi ²
• Mehdi Ravadgar ¹
• Shiva Alvandifar ³
• Reza Ghorbanipour ⁴
• Fatemeh Majdzadeh ¹

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Orthodontics, Dental Materials Research Center, School of Dentistry, Babol University of Medical Sciences,Babol, Iran.

² Associated Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Dental Materials Research Center, School of Dentistry, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.

³ Dentist, Dental Materials Research Center, School of Dentistry, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.

⁴ Assistant Professor, Department of Orthodontics, Dental Materials Research Center, School of Dentistry, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Precise evaluation of dental developmental stages is a part of diagnosis and treatment of children's diseases and is also used in forensic dentistry. Of radiological methods to estimate dental age in children, Nolla's method was preferred in the present study. However, Nolla’s standards have been derived from the American population and may not be applicable to other populations. The aim of this study was to determine chronological and dental ages based on diagnostic technique of Nolla in a group of Iranian children in Babol, aged 8 to 14 years. 
Materials & Methods: In this descriptive/analytical cross-sectional study, dental development was evaluated based on Nolla’s method on 420 panoramic radiographic images of children aged 8‒years without any developmental anomalies. The children were assigned to 14 groups based on sex and chronological age. The dental ages of 32 teeth in each case were estimated by two specialists based on Nolla's developmental stages. Data were analyzed with SPSS 16 using paired t-test (α = 0.05).
Results: In this study the dental ages of males were closer to those depicted by Nolla compared to females and with aging the derived data became more consistent with Nolla’s estimates (p value > 0.05). Nearly in all the teeth, the mean dental age of males was lower than that of females (p value > 0.05).
Conclusion: The standards of Nolla on American children need some modifications and new standards to be used for children in Babol, Iran.
Key words: Age determination, Diagnostic techniques, Panoramic radiograph.