Aims: To test the applicability of European formula for dental maturity estimation in non-adults on Serbian sample and compare its accuracy with Willems' age estimation method.
Materials and methods: Panoramic radiographs of 423 children (192 boys and 231 girls) aged between 5 to 15 were evaluated. Willems' method and European formula were applied to estimate dental age. Intra-class correlation (ICC) coefficients between estimated age and chronological age for each method and sex were reported separately. Furthermore, the percentage of individuals with estimated age within error range of ±0.5 year was calculated.
Results: Total sample was divided into three groups (<7 years, 7-13 years, ≥13 years). In individuals younger than 7 years, the highest ICC coefficients were achieved with European formula (0.609 in girls and 0.487 in boys). Willems' method showed better ICC coefficients in individuals older than 13 years (0.378 in girls and 0.600 in boys). In individuals between 7 and 13 years, ICC coefficients were between 0.800 and 0.900 with both methods European formula estimated the age in 47.6% of girls and 42.5% of boys within error range of ±0.5 year. Willems' method reported similar results (45.4% in girls and 40.4% in boys).
Conclusions: The Willems' method is more appropriate for individuals older than 13 years. European formula gives better results for individuals younger than 7 years. In individuals between 7 and 13 years there is no significant difference between European formula and Willems' method, yet, European formula was found to be slightly more accurate.
Keywords: Age estimation; Dental maturity; European formula; Forensic anthropology population data; Serbs; Willems’ method.
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