121 - Chronologic vs. Dental Age: A Predictor for Panoramic Radiographs Prescription

Abstract:

Purpose: Panoramic radiographs (PRs) are routinely captured in dental practice to diagnose developmental dental anomalies and pathologies (DDAPs) in children. The objective of this retrospective chart review was to determine if dental or chronologic age was a better predictor for determining frequency of PRs in children based on prevalence of DDAP.

Method: This retrospective study was approved by the University’s Institutional Review Board. The study reviewed medical and dental findings from 1037 healthy, non-syndromic age- and gender-matched children (6-16 years). PRs were captured during dental care (2001-22). Two calibrated study personnel reviewed PRs in a standardized setting to calculate dental age based on Demirjian’s method and screening for a panel of 80 DDAPs affecting shape, number, position, structure, and other pathologies. Youden Index was used to determine the optimal age cutoff for prediction of DDAPs. Logistic regression was used to obtain Odds Ratios (OR) and 95 % Confidence Intervals (CI) of all DDAPs for all age group pairwise comparisons adjusting for sex.

Results: The mean chronologic age at PR capture was 11.8±2.9 while the dental age was 12.6±2.8 years. The presence of one DDAP was noted in 78% of the study population including shape (48.6%), number (15.7%), positional (41.7%), and other (16.3%) anomalies. Optimal Youden index cutoffs for anomalies were found at chronologic ages 9, 12 and 15 years.

Conclusion: The results suggest that chronologic age is a better predictor for prescription of PRs to diagnose DDAP in child age groups divided at 9, 12, and 15 years.

Identify Supporting Agency and Grant Number: N/A