Assessment of the Relationship between Sella Turcica Morphology and Delayed Dental Age

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between sella turcica morphology and delayed dental age. In total, 389 participants under 16 years old were selected. Dental age was evaluated by the Demirjian method and age discrepancy (AD), the value subtracted from dental age to chronological age, was calculated. The participants were divided into 8 groups based on the sella turcica type. Bridging ratio (BR) was defined as interclinoid distance divided by sella turcica length to determine the degree of sella turcica bridging (STB) and the participants were classified into 4 groups by BR. The data were statistically analyzed using the Kruskal Wallis test and the Mann Whitney test. Some groups with sella turcica abnormality showed lower AD than that of the normal group and the AD differences varied from 4 months to 1.3 year. As the STB severity increased, AD decreased. AD differences varied from 7 months to 1.19 year. No distinct differences were observed in sella turcica type and STB groups according to sex. The results indicate that sella turcica morphology is associated with delayed dental age. Sella turcica can be used as a supplementary indicator to predict dental development.