Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: Adolescence is a period during which the rate of growth accelerates, reaches a peak velocity and then decelerates until adulthood is achieved. The present study assessed skeletal age with hand-wrist and cervical vertebrae radiography. Materials & Methods: 120 subjects of both genders were subjected to lateral cephalograms and hand wrist radiographs were taken. Lateral cephalograms was taken with the head stabilized by ear rods and nasal support The Frankforthorizontal plane was set parallel to the floor, and theteeth were in centric occlusion. Skeletal age was determined on the hand-wrist radiographs according to the method of Greulich and Pyle. Morphometric changes of the vertebral bodies C2 through C4 were measured (concavity, anterior height, and angle). Results: Out of 90, males were 50 and females were 40.Excellent correlations for concavity of C2,C3, and C4 as well as for anterior height of C3 andC4 was observed. Angle C3 had only a low correlation coefficientand angle C4 had no correlation.There was agreement of calculated skeletal age (CSA) of the Greulich and Pyle hand-wrist assessment. There was an agreement of chronologic age with the Greulich and Pyle hand-wrist assessment. Conclusion: Morphometric assessment of age-dependent changes in chronologic age had advantage over cervical spine.