Estimation of Age Using Third Molar Development: A Radiological Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to correlate chronological age of the patients with dental age using to Demirjian's method and to evaluate if orthopantamogram examination of third molar development correlates with age estimation. STUDY DESIGN: The study was designed as a radiological cross sectional study. Simple random sampling method was used to obtain study subjects. METHODS: Total of 231 patients between the age group of 10 to 25 years, visiting the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology were selected. The digital orthopantomogram was obtained for these patients. RESULTS: Our data showed that, in the maxilla, the stages of tooth developments A to E were reached earlier in men than in women, whereas stages F to H were reached earlier in women than men. In mandible stages B, C, E to F were reached earlier in men than women, whereas stages A and D were reached earlier by the female counterparts. There was a statistically significant difference noted between right and left third molar teeth in all the stages of tooth development. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that between the sexes in maxilla, men reached stages A to E earlier than women, whereas for stages F to H, women reached the stage earlier than men. For mandible, all stages except stage D were reached earlier by male subjects than female subjects. Our study showed that the third molar development can be affected positively by the chronological age of the patient, being developed either in maxilla or mandible, right or left side.

Oral potentially malignant disorders: clinical diagnosis and current screening aids: a narrative review.

Around 300 000 patients are estimated to have oral cancer worldwide annually, and the incidence is higher in South Asian countries. In 2005, at the Congress of WHO, the term potentially malignant disorder (PMD)/lesion was suggested as a replacement for premalignant oral lesions and conditions. PMDs are those lesions of the oral mucosa that are at an increased risk of malignant transformation compared with the healthy mucosa. PMDs consist of leukoplakia, erythroplakia, oral lichen planus, oral submucous fibrosis, and other miscellaneous lesions. A literature search was performed using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science without any language restrictions. There is no standardized method for identifying a site for biopsy and various methods such as toluidine blue stain, methylene blue, Lugol's iodine, and chemiluminescence have been proposed in the literature. Despite easy access to the oral cavity, there has been significant mortality associated with oral cancer as they are often diagnosed late because of the inability of healthcare professionals to identify them at early premalignant states. This article aims to provide healthcare professionals with the knowledge to identify potentially malignant disorders and to aid them in biopsy site identification.