Radiographic assessment of third molar development and its relation to dental and chronological age in the Saudi Arabian population

Background Radiology plays a vital role in determining human age. Age estimation based on radiographic evaluation of human third molars can prove useful and accurate. The present study aimed to evaluate the reliability of age estimation of the third molar and to study the effects of gender, arch, and side of third molars using the modified Demirjian and Moorrees classifications. Methods Orthopantomograms (OPG) of 6–24-year-old patients who attended our dental hospital were evaluated, and all eligible OPGs were analyzed for the test reliability based on the third molar modified Demirjian and Moorrees classifications. Statistical tests were performed to investigate the effect of gender, arch, and side. Results A total of 508 eligible OPGs were included in the study. Female subjects were 54.9%. The mean age was 14.69 ± 4.5 years. Based on each classification, each of the 3rd molars was significantly correlated with age ( p < 0.001) with positive Pearson correlation values ( r > 0.851). Conclusions The third molar modified Demirjian and Moorrees classifications were found to be highly accurate when used with our population. In addition, gender, arch, and side of third molars did not affect the estimated age.