Bone age assessment using cephalometric photographs

Background: The assessment of bone age comprises the basic element of orthodontic diagnostics as it enables the recognition of deviations from normal growth, determines the choice of treatment, helps determine the appropriate moment to begin treatment, establish prognosis and plan a retention strategy. In order to make an assessment of skeletal maturity possible in a single examination, radiological methods were adopted. The following characteristics are evaluated on a radiograph: the appearance, size and shape of ossification centers, the width and the shape of growth cartilage and the degree of fusion between diaphyses and epiphyses. In order to assess the maturity of bones, hand-wrist radiographs were introduced in the second decade of the 20th century. Bone age assessment of bone age could also be made based on an analysis of a morphological maturity of cervical vertebrae utilizing cephalometric radiographs. Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the correspondence between bone age assessments made from hand-wrist radiographs and those from cephalometric radiographs. Material/Methods: In order to fulfill the objectives, hand-wrist radiographs as well as cephalometric radiographs of 30 patients (15 girls and 15 boys) between 10 and 17 years of age were collected. Bone age of hand, wrist and cervical spine was assessed. Bone age on hand-wrist radiographs was evaluated using th