Comparative assessment of the Willems dental age estimation methods: a Chinese population-based radiographic study

Jian Wang; Linfeng Fan; Shihui Shen; Meizhi Sui; Jiaxin Zhou; Xiaoyan Yuan; Yiwen Wu; Pingping Zhong; Fang Ji; Jiang Tao

doi:10.1186/s12903-022-02418-5

Comparative assessment of the Willems dental age estimation methods: a Chinese population-based radiographic study

BMC Oral Health. 2022 Sep 3;22(1):373. doi: 10.1186/s12903-022-02418-5.

Authors

Jian Wang^#^{1

2}, Linfeng Fan^#³, Shihui Shen^{1

2}, Meizhi Sui^{1

2}, Jiaxin Zhou^{1

2}, Xiaoyan Yuan^{1

2}, Yiwen Wu^{1

2}, Pingping Zhong^{1

2}, Fang Ji^{4

5}, Jiang Tao^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of General Dentistry, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
² National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai, China.
³ Department of Radiology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Department of Orthodontics, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. smilefang98@hotmail.com.
⁵ National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai, China. smilefang98@hotmail.com.
⁶ Department of General Dentistry, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. doctor_taojiang@126.com.
⁷ National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai, China. doctor_taojiang@126.com.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: The comparison of the two Willems dental age estimation methods (gender-specific (Willems I) and non-gender-specific (Willems II)) has not been fully investigated. Here we aimed to explore the applicability of the Willems dental age estimation in an Eastern Chinese population, which may cast light on the field of dental age estimation.

Methods: A total of 1211 oral panoramic radiographs (582 boys and 629 girls) of the Chinese Han population aged 11-16 years old were collected. Dental ages (DAs) were calculated using the Willems method. Statistical significance was set at a p-value < 0.05. Age differences between chronological age (CA) and dental age were analyzed by paired t-tests and mean absolute error (MAE).

Results: The differences between CA and DA determined by the Willems I method were + 0.44 and + 0.09 years for boys and girls, respectively. When using the Willems II method, these differences were + 0.57 and - 0.09. The MAEs of the Willems I method between DA and CA were 0.95 and 1.00 years in boys and girls, respectively. For Willems II, MAEs were 1.02 and 1.00 years in boys and girls.

Conclusions: This study showed that the Willems I method was more accurate than the Willems II method in the boys' group for predicting age from a whole scale. In comparison, Willems II is more competitive in the girls' group. Neither method may be satisfactory for 11-to-16-year-old teenagers in Eastern China.

Keywords: Chinese population; Dental age estimation; Tooth development; Willems method.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Age Determination by Teeth* / methods
Asian People
Child
China
Female
Humans
Male
Radiography, Panoramic
Tooth*