Context: Radiographs have an essential role in Chronological Age (CA) estimation and are being used for dental age (DA) determination.
Aims: Detecting the validity of Nolla's method (NM) for the age assessment of Kurdish Iraqi children (KIC).
Methods and material: A retrospective study was performed using orthopantomographs (OPGs) of 354 subjects aged from 4 to 13 years (178 boys and 176 girls) and their recording files. Subjects were divided into nine study groups: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 years old. The chronological age (CA) was subtracted from the DA to find the validity of NM; the positive results indicated the overestimation of age, whereas the negative results indicated for underestimation. The data were recorded through a digitalised system using Microsoft Excel worksheet and analysed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 25) programme using the dependent T-test and graphical analysis. The level of P value used in this study was set at < 0.05. Results: The DA is underestimated in ages 9 to 13 in boys and girls. The highest difference in DA-CA was at the age of 9 years (-0.146 ± 0.162).
Conclusions: NM for age estimation was slightly overestimated in age groups of 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 years in boys and girls without statistically significant differences. However, this method underestimated the ages of KIC ranging from 9 to 13 years significantly.
Keywords: Age estimation in the living; Iraqi Kurdish population; Nolla; tooth development; forensic anthropology population data.