Comparative evaluation of dental age, bone age, and chronological age in the human immunodeficiency virus positive children

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The knowledge of bone age and dental age is of great importance for pediatrician and pediatric dentist. It is essential for pediatric dentist to formulate treatment plan and it is a source of complementary information for pediatrician. There are few studies in literature, which showed the relationship between dental age, bone age and chronological age in HIV-positive children. Therefore, objective of this study was to determine and compare dental age, bone age and chronological age in HIV-positive children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 60 HIV-positive children between the age group of 18-14 years were selected. Chronological age was determined by recording date of birth. Dental age assessment was performed using orthopantamogram following the method described by Demirjian. Bone age estimation was carried out using hand-wrist radiograph following Bjork, Grave, and Brown's method. RESULTS: Chronological age was advanced compared with dental age and bone age in both sexes. The correlation between chronological age, dental age and bone age were all positive in both sexes. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: The data supports the concept that dental age and bone age delay is a significant feature in HIV-positive children. It is important to consider dental age and bone age as variables for diagnosing growth retardation in HIV-positive children. To support our findings, further a well-designed, controlled as well as longitudinal study with a larger sample size is required.