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. 2025 Jan;139(1):219-235.
doi: 10.1007/s00414-024-03322-z. Epub 2024 Sep 21.

The Cayor Atlas: a black Senegalese dental atlas for permanent tooth formation

Sankoung Soumboundou  1 , Christophe Bou  2 , Safa Houari  3 , Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye  4 , Papa Abdou Lecor  5 , Babacar Toure  6
Affiliations

The Cayor Atlas: a black Senegalese dental atlas for permanent tooth formation

Sankoung Soumboundou et al. Int J Legal Med. 2025 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction: Many aspects of tooth development have been documented, particularly in Caucasian populations. However, dental development has not been extensively studied in West Africa.

Objective: The present study was designed to provide information on the sequences of tooth calcification in West African black Senegalese children and to compare the results with those of other populations, notably the London Atlas.

Methods: A total of 556 orthopantomograms (OPGs) from 289 males and 266 females with a mean age of 11.34 ± 3.84 years were analyzed. Demirjian A-H staging was applied to record the stages of tooth development. Tables of tooth development stages for each tooth were generated separately for age cohorts and by sex. The most common stage of tooth formation (modal) was the characteristic age stage of development. Differences between boys and girls and between maxillary and mandibular teeth were also analyzed using chi-squares. Accuracy was assessed by comparing the age estimated by the Dental Development Atlas for this population (Cayor Atlas) and the London Atlas tooth with chronological age using the Bland-Altman test.

Results: There was no significant difference in tooth development between girls and boys, p > 0.05. Maxillary teeth had similar dental development to mandibular teeth, p > 0.05. The Pearson correlation test showed a strong correlation between chronological age and the age estimated by the Cayor atlas, p < 0.001. The Bland-Altman test also showed greater accuracy than the London Atlas.

Conclusion: These results show dental calcification sequences different from those of the London Atlas Tooth and the Witts Atlas (Atlas of Black South African Subjects).

Keywords: Age estimation; Demirjian method; Dental age calculation; Panoramic radiographs.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: The study was approved by the management of Cheikh Anta Diop University and conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Research involving human participants and/or animals: This retrospective descriptive study included panoramic radiographs of patients attending the radiology clinic of the dental department of the Faculty of Medicine in Dakar. Participants consented to the use of their data for academic research, including publications, provided anonymity was maintained. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from the participants and their parents or guardians for the conduct of the study. Conflict of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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