title: Delayed dental age in boys with constitutionally delayed puberty.
abstract: It was the purpose of this study to evaluate dental age in boys with delayed puberty and to compare them with a group of normal, healthy boys. The study group consisted of eight boys with constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP), older than 14 years, and with a testis volume smaller than 4 ml. The control group comprised 38 normal, healthy boys, aged between 12.4 and 14.3 years. Dental age was assessed using the Demirjian method and, on the basis of this evaluation, a dental delay score (i.e. dental age minus chronological age) was calculated in the CDGP and the control group. It was found that Demirjian's dental age assessment is a valid method for scoring dental age in Belgian boys between 12 and 14 years of age, and that CDGP boys showed a significant delay in dental development compared with normal boys (P = 0.0085). This study revealed a significant retardation in dental maturation of boys with CDGP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gaethofs
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Verdonck
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carels
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Zegher
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000366:Age Determination by Teeth / Q000379:methods*; D001530:Belgium; D001824:Body Constitution; D002648:Child; D019229:Dentition, Permanent; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D011628:Puberty, Delayed / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results