A correlation between the timing of skeletal maturity and dental development in black South African Patients

The growth potential of patients has a significant influence on the timing of orthodontic intervention and treatment modalities. Skeletal maturity and dental development are biological maturity indicators which can be used to determine the growth status of an individual.ObjectivesTo correlate the dental maturational stages of black South African individuals with the stages of skeletal maturation and to determine the diagnostic accuracy of using dental developmental stages to identify an individual’s skeletal maturity.DesignRetrospective, cross-sectional study.MethodsSkeletal maturity and dental development of 224 subjects were assessed using lateral cephalograms and panoramic radiographs, respectively. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation coefficient and positive likelihood ratios (LHR).ResultsThe highest (rs =0.759, p<0.001) correlation with skeletalmaturity was identified for the second molar and the lowest correlation (rs=0.662, p<0.001) for the canine. Positive LHR>10 combined with sensitivity and specificity testing revealed that the second premolar (stage E), second molar (stage F) and second molar (stage H) have the most significant diagnostic reliability to identify the pre-pubertal, pubertal and post-pubertal growth phases, respectively. ConclusionDental development is a valuable diagnostic tool to assess skeletal maturation. The calcification of the second molar (stage F) is predictive of the pubertal growth phase