Which growth curves are commonly used for dental development age estimation in subadults?

• A. Smith and Brown growth charts
• B. International Human Growth standards
• C. World Health Organization dental growth charts
• D. Demirjian or Moorrees growth curves

Answer: (D)

Focusing on how teeth develop over time provides a reliable way to estimate age in subadults. The most commonly used tools for this are growth curves developed specifically for dental maturation, because they translate visible tooth formation stages on radiographs into an estimated age. The Demirjian and Moorrees curves are two of the best-known systems in this area. They are built around detailed, standardized tooth development stages observed in developing teeth and provide a method to convert those stages into an age estimate.

Demirjian’s approach uses a set of maturity stages for each tooth, typically labeled to reflect progression from early calcification to mature root formation, and combines these into a dental maturity score that maps to a dental age. Moorrees’ method similarly uses defined developmental stages, with a focus on crown and root development, to generate an age estimate. Both were designed specifically for dental development assessment and have been validated against known-age samples, making them widely adopted in forensic contexts.

In contrast, growth references like International Human Growth Standards address somatic growth (height, weight) rather than dental maturation, and WHO charts similarly focus on general growth metrics rather than tooth development. The other options aren’t standard dental maturity references, so they aren’t used for this purpose.

So, the best-supported tools for dental development age estimation in subadults are the Demirjian and Moorrees growth curves.