title: The developmental stages of the middle phalanx of the third finger (MP3): a sole indicator in assessing the skeletal maturity?
abstract: Assessment of skeletal maturity is an integral part of interceptive diagnosis and treatment planning. The present day methods of skeletal maturity assessment like the hand-wrist radiographs or cervical vertebrae radiographs are expensive, require elaborate equipment and accounts for high radiation exposure, especially for growing children. The present study was thus undertaken to provide a simple and practical method of skeletal maturity assessment using the developmental stages of the middle phalanx of the third finger (MP3) as seen on an IOPA film taken using a standard dental x-ray machine. The results of the study showed that this simple method was highly reliable and could be used as an alternative method to assess the skeletal maturity of growing children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Children Dentistry, ABSMIDS, Mangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Madhu
authors.forename: Amitha M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hegde
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Munshi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000365:Age Determination by Skeleton / Q000379:methods*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001846:Bone Development; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000254:growth & development; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014962:X-Ray Film