Introduction:

The degree of dental maturation as an indicator of the degree of general maturation, according to Demirjian’s method, may be affected by geographic altitude.

Aim:

To determine the relationship between chronological age and dental age according to Demirjian’s method in children from two Peruvian locations at different altitudes.

Methods:

An observational, analytical, retrospective, cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 179 panoramic radiographs of Peruvian children aged 6 to 12 years. Group A: 109 radiographs of children from Lima City; Group B: 70 radiographs of children from Huancayo City. Dental age was determined according to Demirjian’s method and related to chronological age for each patient from each location, and the differences were compared for ages in both cities.

Results:

A statistically significant correlation was found between dental and chronological age for both sexes in patients from Lima City (p< 0.001), but only for male patients from Huancayo City (p< 0.001 for males and p= 0.740 for females). The differences between chronological age and dental age were not statistically significant in patients from either city (Mann-Whitney U test, p= 0.057).

Conclusions:

No significant correlation was found between dental age and chronological age in female patients living at higher altitude, and no statistically significant difference was found between chronological age and dental age according to Demirjian’s method for children living in either city.

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