Dental maturation in British children: Are Demirjian's standards applicable?

Objective. The objective of this study was to determine if the standards of dental maturation of Demirjian et al. (1973, 1976) are applicable to British children. Design. The design was cross-sectional, retrospective. Sample and method. The sample comprised 521 London children of Bangladeshi and white Caucasian (English, Welsh and Scottish) origin aged between 4 and 9 years. Dental age was assessed by crown and root stages of seven mandibular teeth from rotational pantomographs. Dental age was compared to chronological age using a t-test. Results. Differences in dental maturation between the two ethnic groups were not significant. British children as a group were dentally advanced compared to the Canadian standards. The mean (± standard deviation) advancement in girls was 0.51 ± 0.79 years and in boys was 0.73 + 0.73 years. Conclusions. The standards of dental maturation described by Demirjian et al. (1973, 1976) may not be suitable for British children.