INVESTIGATION OF THE APPLICABILITY OF THE THIRD MOLAR MATURITY INDEX FOR AGE ESTIMATION IN THE POPULATION OF GOIÁS

Abstract

IN ORDER TO DETERMINE WHETHER AN INDIVIDUAL IS OF LEGAL AGE IN BRAZIL AND CAPABLE OF ANSWERING FOR HIS ACTS, IT IS NECESSARY FOR HIM TO BE 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER. SEVERAL METHODS HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED IN THE LITERATURE TO DETERMINE THE AGE OF AN INDIVIDUAL BY MEANS OF IMAGE EXAM ANALYSIS, THE MAIN ONE BEING THAT DESCRIBED BY CAMERIERE (2008). THE PRESENT STUDY ANALYZED THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF CAMERIERE'S (2008) RADIOGRAPHIC METHOD OF AGE ESTIMATION USING THIRD MOLARS IN A SAMPLE OF THE POPULATION OF GOI�S. THIS IS A QUANTITATIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY WHERE THE APPLICABILITY OF THE AGE ESTIMATION METHOD THROUGH THE THIRD MOLAR MATURITY INDEX (CAMERIERE ET AL., 2008) WAS EVALUATED IN A SAMPLE OF THE POPULATION OF GOIAS OF BOTH GENDERS, AGED BETWEEN 14 AND 23 YEARS, THROUGH PANORAMIC RADIOGRAPHS ACQUIRED DURING THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 2016 TO DECEMBER 2017. THE THIRD MOLAR MATURATION INDEX (I3M) WAS DETERMINED FROM THE MEASUREMENT OF THE WIDTH (AI) OF THE APEX OR CROWN OF THE TOOTH, DEPENDING ON THE STAGE OF TOOTH DEVELOPMENT, DIVIDED BY THE LENGTH OF THE TOOTH (LI). AT THE END OF THIS DIVISION THERE IS A RATIO (XI) WHICH IS THE MATURATION INDEX OF THE THIRD MOLAR. AGE ESTIMATION AND ITS ACCURACY WERE EVALUATED AND PRESENTED AS DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS. DIGITAL PANORAMIC RADIOGRAPHS OF 348 SUBJECTS WERE ANALYZED, WITH A MINIMUM AGE OF 14 YEARS AND A MAXIMUM AGE OF 23 YEARS (SD = 3.08). IN THE SAMPLE DISTRIBUTION, 174 (50.0%) SUBJECTS WERE 18 YEARS OLD OR OLDER AND 174 (50.0%) SUBJECTS WERE UNDERAGE. THE SAMPLE COMPRISED 164 (47.1%) MALES AND 184 (52.9%) FEMALES. THE THIRD MOLAR INDEX (I3M) HAD A MINIMUM VALUE OF 0.01 AND A MAXIMUM VALUE OF 1.39. CONSIDERING THE ESTIMATED AGE OF THE THIRD MOLAR INDEX, THE AREA UNDER THE ROC CURVE FOR THE TOTAL SAMPLE WAS 0.868 (P=0.021), SHOWING THAT THIS TEST HAS AN EXCELLENT AGREEMENT WITH THE BIOLOGICAL AGE OF THE INDIVIDUALS ANALYZED. THE METHOD PROPOSED BY CAMERIERE ET AL. 2008, PROVED TO BE AN EXCELLENT RESOURCE FOR AGE ESTIMATION IN THE POPULATION OF GOI�S, USING THE MANDIBULAR THIRD MOLARS, SHOWING EXCELLENT COMPATIBILITY WITH THE BIOLOGICAL AGE OF THE SELECTED SAMPLE.