Assessment of Correlation between Cervical Vertebrae Maturation and Dental Age Among the 9 to 14 year Old Patients of the Orthodontic Department of Dentistry Faculty in University of Isfahan

The most favorable orthodontic treatment outcomes are obtained when the treatment starts at the most appropriate stage of growth. In such a case, it will have the least potential complications and the best therapeutic stability. Many researchers have shown that chronological age is not a reliable method for evaluation of skeletal development. It is very important to use a reliable index to identify different stages of skeletal maturation. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between maturation of cervical vertebrae and calcification of teeth in children 9-14 years of age. In this cross-sectional study, cephalometric and panoramic radiographs of 200 patients were used. The patents were aged 9‒14 years and had referred to the Department of Orthodontics of Isfahan Dental School and specialty clinics. In this study, to determine the calcification of canines, first premolars, second premolars and second molars, Demirjian et al technique was used; in addition, Baccetti et al technique was used to evaluate the different stages of skeletal maturation. Data was analyzed using SPSS 23 and Spearman’s correlation coefficient (α = 0.05). The results of this study showed a significant correlation between the calcification of canines, first and second premolars, and the second molars on both the left and right sides with different stages of cervical maturation. Spearman’s correlation coefficient for different teeth were as follows: canines, r = 0.5; first premolars, r = 0.5; second premolars, r = 0.6; and second molars, r = 0.6; p value < 0.001). However, in boys the relationship was significant only in the left molar teeth (r = 0.3), right molar teeth (r = 0.26) and left canine teeth (r = 0.3), (p value < 0.001). The correlation between calcification of teeth and cervical vertebrae in girls was significant; in boys it was significant only in second molar teeth and left canine teeth.