Comparison of Dental Age and Skeletal Maturity in Korean Children with Skeletal Malocclusion

The purpose of this study was to compare skeletal maturity index and dental developmental stages based on skeletal malocclusion. A total of 192 patients (89 male and 103 female) between 6 to 14 years old were selected for this study and underwent cephalograms, panorama radiographs, and hand-wrist radiographs. Any syndromic cases were excluded. Selected clinical parameters were dichotomised for statistical analysis. Chi-square, logistic regression analysis, and independent t-tests were used for the statistical evaluation. Canine, first molar, and second molar calcification were significantly associated with skeletal maturity in the logistic regression model ( p < 0.05). In addition, patients who had higher skeletal maturity index were 11.43 times more likely to be female than those who had lower skeletal maturity index (p < 0.001). The patients with skeletal class II malocclusion displayed significantly higher dental developmental stage in canines, first premolars, first molars, and second molars than the patients with class III malocclusion (p < 0.05). The dental developmental stage of the patients was significantly associated with skeletal maturity. In addition, there was a significant difference between class II and class III malocclusion with some types of tooth calcification.