Evaluation of the Effect of Body Mass Index on Age Determination in Children at Different Dentition Periods by Demirjian Method: A Cross-Sectional Study
European annals of dental sciences (Online), cilt.53, sa.2, ss.66-72, 2026 (TRDizin)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 53 Sayı: 2
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.52037/eads.2026.0011
- Dergi Adı: European annals of dental sciences (Online)
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Central & Eastern European Academic Source (CEEAS), Directory of Open Access Journals, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.66-72
- Ankara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Purpose: The aim of the current cross-sectional study was to investigate the agreement levels between chronological age and estimated age (by using Demirjian method) in children with different Body Mass Index (BMI) categories.
Materials and Methods: This study included 281 children aged 6-12 years. BMI determined (with the calculation of kg/m²) and BMI categorization [underweight, healthy, overweight and obese] was performed by using percentile curves according to the age and sex for all cases. Subsequently, estimated dental ages were calculated with Demirjian age determination method. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate the agreement between chronological age and estimated age for all BMI categories. Data were analysed with ICC analysis and Chi-Square test. The significance level was taken as 5%.
Results: The mean estimated age according to Demirjian method was 9.11±1.75 years. ICC values calculated between chronological age and estimated age for all BMI categories were 0.436 in underweight children, 0.408 in healthy children, 0.579 in overweight children and 0.363 in obese children, also, all agreement comparisons were statistically significant (p=0.015, p<0.001, p<0.001 and p=0.01, respectively). ICC was 0.049 in children aged 6-9 years and 0.330 in children aged 10-12 years in terms of agreement between chronological age and Demirjian age. However, the agreement was statistically significant only in children aged 10-12 years (p<0.001). The agreement between the chronological age and estimated age by Demirjian method was higher in males than in females (ICC for males: 0.583 and ICC for females: 0.432).
Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, it is concluded that BMI should be considered as an important parameter for dental age determination both in dental practice and forensic sciences.