RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To test the applicability of "Gleiser and Hunt dental staging system modified by Kohler" (GHK) to assess third molar (3â¯M) development in a Russian population in order to determine the age of majority. DESIGN: The sample consisted of 918 panoramic radiographs from Russian females (nâ¯=â¯551) and males (nâ¯=â¯367) within the age interval between 8 and 23 years. On each radiograph, 3â¯M development was classified based on the GHK technique. Statistics tested the data for normality. Mean age and standard deviation were described for each 3â¯M position. Ordinal logistic regression tested the performance of the technique to classify individuals below or above the 18-year threshold. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were used. RESULTS: The mean ages and standard deviation (SD) for apex closure in females were 21,11 (SDâ¯=â¯1,47), 21,11 (SDâ¯=â¯1,43), 21,24 (SDâ¯=â¯1,39), and 21,29 (SDâ¯=â¯1,28) years for the teeth #18, 28, 38, and 48, respectively. Among males, the same teeth showed mean closure ages of 20,57 (SDâ¯=â¯1,69), 20,64 (SDâ¯=â¯1,76), 20,68 (SDâ¯=â¯1,68), and 20,81 (SDâ¯=â¯1,62) years, respectively. Area under the curve (AUC) reached 0.904 and 0.915 for classifying females and males below or above the 18-year threshold. CONCLUSION: The GHK technique was able to describe 3â¯M development in a Russian population. The statistic model was able to classify individuals below or above the 18-year threshold. However, the outcomes must be carefully interpreted, especially in borderline cases (17-19-year spectrum).