Validity of Acharya’s population specific standards for age prediction in Hyderabad population: Is there a need for new population specific formulae?

• Author Details:   
• R. Sudha
• Swapnika Enugala
• Sudhir Balla
• Harish Kumar Poola
• G. Chandra Deepak

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Dental mineralization, compared to skeletal development, is widely considered the most accurate indicator of chronological age in subadults. As dental maturity proved to be varied even within different populations of same country, the present study is designed to evaluate the applicability and accuracy of Acharya’s population specific formulae for age estimation in Hyderabad population. This cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted on panoramic radiographs of 186 subjects (91 boys & 95 girls) aged between 7 and 22 years. All the left mandibular teeth were evaluated and scored as per Demirjian’s 9- stage criteria. Age was calculated on the basis of Acharya's Indian formula. Statistical analysis was performed to compare the estimated and actual age. All data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 statistical software and Microsoft excel. The results revealed that these formulae underestimated Dental age in boys by 0.31 years, by 0.16 years in girls and by 0.23 years in both samples. It also revealed that 39% of subjects having an error rate within +/- 1 year, while 38% of subjects falls into error rate of more than +/- 2 years. This high error rate in estimating dental age suggested among studied population suggested the need for formulation of new standards in Hyderabad population.

Keywords: Age estimation; Demirjian’s method; Acharya’s population specific formulae; Panoramic radiographs