Dental age comparison in patients born with unilateral cleft lip and palate to a control sample using Demirjian and Willems methods.

Objectives: To determine and compare the differences in dental age (DA) and chronological age (CA) of Demirjian and Willems methods in 9- to 11-year-old Caucasian boys and girls born with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate (NSUCLP) to an age-matched control group. Analysis of the results is undertaken to determine whether there are differences between gender, groups, and methods.

Materials and methods: Dental panoramic tomograph (DPT) of 108 children with NSUCLP aged from 8.79 to 10.99 years (x¯=10.05  ±   0.36) were compared to 107 control children. Age, gender, and group were blinded during examination. The Demirjian and Willems methods were used by both authors to visually examine the radiographs. Differences between DA and CA were determined with a repeated two-way ANOVA.

Results: Inter-examiner reliability was good (ICC ≈ 0.75). For each of the methods used, the mean DA/CA difference was greater in the control group than in the NSUCLP group (P = 0.011). The control group's Demirjian mean DA/CA difference was 1.08 years and Willems mean was 0.46 years, compared to the NSUCLP group's Demirjian mean DA/CA difference 0.83 years and Willems mean 0.22 years. Only the Willems method determined a statistically significant gender difference (P = 0.000).

Conclusions: The null hypothesis was rejected. Willem's method as compared to Demirjian's displayed greater accuracy in estimating CA. Both methods overestimated CA but detected DA delay in NSUCLP children compared to the control group. However, the methods were inconsistent in estimating gender CA.