Third molar development age range on indonesian population from various ethnics based on radiograph findings: A preliminary study

Disaster victims often require identification based on methods that work with limited remaining material,and one such supporting method is based on using the third molar as the reference for age assessment of the victim. this study aimed to determine the age range of third molar development stages of the indonesian population. the descriptive study utilized orthopantomograms and the tooth development stages by demirjian as the study instrument. the results showed that the average indonesian population reaches the dental maturity stage at the mean age 22.5 ±3.0 years for males and 23.5 ±3.6 years for females. there is also sexual dimorphism in the rate of third molar development,where the development in males accelerating after the age of around 14 years. tooth development on lower jaw is observable of lower rate compared with the upper jaw.