Порівняльна ефективність, валідність та судово-медична значущість методів Demirjian та Cameriere для визначення зубного віку у дітей в Україні та світі

Olha Isakova; Nataliia Bodnaruk; Galina Girchak; Oleksandr Kolesnichenko; Volodymyr Kolesnichenko

doi:10.33295/1992-576X-2026-2-ORTH-2

Authors

Olha Isakova Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3364-3945
Nataliia Bodnaruk Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5222-7915
Galina Girchak Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7221-1390
Oleksandr Kolesnichenko Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6210-8397
Volodymyr Kolesnichenko Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5912-1198

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33295/1992-576X-2026-2-ORTH-2

Keywords:

children, dental age, Demirjian method, Cameriere method, orthopantomography

Abstract

Background. Accurate chronological age estimation is one of the most challenging and crucial tasks in modern forensic medicine, clinical pediatrics, and pediatric dentistry. In the context of globalization, active migration processes, and the investigation of criminal offenses involving undocumented individuals, dental age estimation acquires critical legal significance.

The aim of this work is to conduct a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of the Demirjian and Cameriere methods for dental age determination based on the results of our own research and current literature data, as well as to justify the choice of the optimal methodology for use in Ukraine.

Materials and methods. This work presents a comprehensive analysis of the problem of determining a child’s biological age based on dental status. Based on a systematic review of scientific sources published over the last decade in leading professional journals worldwide and in Ukraine, as well as relying on our own research, a comparative characteristic of the two most common methodological approaches was formed: the method for assessing the stages of mineralization of permanent teeth by Demirjian and the morphometric method for measuring the open apices of permanent teeth roots by Cameriere.
Particular attention in the work is paid to the validation of these methods in the Ukrainian population of children, based on the fundamental research of V. F. Makeiev and O. O. Isakova among the population of children in the Prykarpattia region of Ukraine and the published results of studies conducted by an international group of scientists, with the participation of M. Honcharuk-Chomyk et al. among a sample of children living in the territory of Transcarpathia.

Conclusions. It was established that the classical Demirjian method has a pronounced tendency toward systematic overestimation of the chronological age of Ukrainian children (the age overestimation ranges from +0.43 to +0.58 years among children of the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine). The Cameriere method was found to be more objective and reproducible; it demonstrated high accuracy and reliability with minimal mean deviation, making it a priority tool for use in domestic forensic medicine and clinical dentistry. Similar results were observed in the vast majority of studied populations in other regions of the world and countries.
In global scientific practice, there is a definitive transition from qualitative (descriptive) age estimation methods to quantitative (morphometric) ones.

Studies show that neural networks trained on the Cameriere algorithm achieve accuracy comparable to the work of an experienced expert, but eliminate the factors of fatigue and subjectivity. This opens up prospects for creating a national Ukrainian software product for automated age estimation.

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