Assessment of validity of Nolla method for dental age estimation a group of children in the Black Sea region

Aim: Age determination has become increasingly important in forensic science. Weight, height, chronological age, skeletal age, menarche age and dental age can be used for evaluation of growth and development. Dental age can be determined by various methods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of the Nolla method for dental age estimation in a group of children in Black SeaRegion. Materials and Methods: Panoramic radiograph of 260 children between 4-16 years of age were evaluated retrospectively in this study. Dental maturity was evaluated according to the stages proposed by Nolla. The correlation between the chronological anddental age was analyzed by statistically t-test. Results: When comparing chronological age with dental age determined by Nolla method, significant difference was found between age groups in both girls and boys (p<0.05). This differences were detected 13 age for girls and 7, 9, 13, 14, and 15 ages for boys. Conclusion: Nolla method for dental age estimation is suitable for a group of children in the Black Sea Region except 7, 9, 13, 14 and 15 ages for boys and 13 age for girls.