Pia Baumann1, 2, Thomas Widek1, Heiko Merkens1, Julian Boldt3, Andreas Petrovic1, 4, Barbara Kirnbauer5, Norbert Jakse5, Eva Scheurer1, 2
1Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Clinical-Forensic Imaging, Graz, Austria; 2Medical University, Graz, Austria; 3Department of Prosthodontics, Julius Maximilians University, Wrzburg, Germany; 4University of Technology, Institute of Medical Engineering, Graz, Austria; 5University Clinic for Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine, Graz, Austria
Dental age estimation is important for forensic age estimation in living adolescents which to date is based on the evaluation of an orthopantomogram. However, the use of ionizing radiation without medical indication is not permitted in many countries. In this study, MRI was compared to the orthopantomogram regarding dental development. The developmental stages could well be differentiated in MRI. While mineralization in the MRI tended to be associated with stages higher than in the orthopantomogram, eruption showed an almost perfect correlation between both methods. These results show that MRI might replace the orthopantomogram for dental age estimation in the future.