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The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare the accuracy of the Cameriere European formula (Cameriere), adopted Haavikko method from 1974 (Haavikko), and revisited Demirjian method by Willems (Willems) for age estimation on orthopantomograms (OPGs) of Bosnian-Herzegovian (BH) children age groups 6-13 years. The accuracy was determined as difference between estimated dental age (DA) and chronological age (CA) and the absolute accuracy (absolute difference) was assessed by analyzing OPGs of 591 girls and 498 boys. The Cameriere method overestimated the mean age by 0.09 year for girls and underestimated by -0.02 year for boys. The Haavikko method underestimated the mean age by -0.29 year for girls and -0.09 year for boys. The Willems method overestimated the mean age by 0.24 year in girls and by 0.42 year in boys. The absolute accuracies were 0.53 year for girls and 0.55 year for boys for Cameriere method; for Haavikko method, 0.59 year for girls and 0.62 year for boys; and for Willems method 0.69 year for girls and 0.67 year for boys. In conclusion, Cameriere method is the most accurate for estimating the age of BH children age groups 6-13 years using OPGs, following adopted Haavikko method and Willems method.

Summary Reconstruction of the life of ancient peoples can be accomplished by studying their dental remains. The further we go into the past, the greater the importance of dental remains for answering a wide spectre of questions related to the life of a particular community. The dental system is a valuable source of information on the type of food, illnesses, and social stratification within a community.The purpose of this paper was to determine the frequency, distribution, and characteristics of dental caries in the mediaeval population of Bijelo Brdo in Croatia.The analysed sample consisted of the dental remains of 85 individuals with the total of 1064 teeth. The majority (979 or 92.0%) of the teeth belonged to the permanent dentition, and this data set was analysed in this report. The frequency of antemortem tooth loss in the sample was 6.7%, the frequency of caries -9.5%. The most frequent recorded caries were interproximal (3.9%), followed by occlusal (2.9%), and buccal/lingual (1.3%).This research showed that the frequency and distribution of dental caries in the early mediaeval population from Bijelo Brdo is very similar to that of other European populations of the same socio-economic status during the same historic period. Chronological changes in the localisation of caries in populations that inhabited continental Croatia during the mediaeval period indicate a gradual reduction of interproximal caries and an increase of occlusal, buccal, and lingual lesions. These data suggest a change of diet with softer foods becoming more available in the younger time periods. #

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Dento-alveolar pathologies: caries, ante mortem tooth loss, abscesses, calculus, alveolar resorption and tooth wear were analysed in two composite skeletal series from Croatia's eastern Adriatic coast (Dalmatia). The first consists of 103 skeletons from seven Late Antique (3rd-6th century AD) sites, the second of 151 skeletons from three Early Medieval (7th-11th centuries AD) sites. As recent bioarhaeological studies (Š laus, 2008) showed a significant increase of disease loads and trauma frequencies in Dalmatia during the Early Medieval period, the aim of this study was to investigate whether dental health was equally adversely affected by the Late Antique/Early Medieval transition. The results of our analyses show that the frequencies of carious lesions, ante mortem tooth loss, abscesses and alveolar resorption increased significantly during the Early Medieval period, as did the degree of heavy occlusal wear on posterior teeth. These data suggest a change in alimentary habits, with a significantly higher dependence on carbohydrates and a greater reliance on hard, fibrous foods requiring vigorous mastication in the Early Medieval diet. The combination of higher calculus and lower caries rates in the Late Antique series similarly suggests more protein in the Late Antique diet and is, therefore, also consistent with the hypothesised change in alimentary habits. In general (the two exceptions are male caries and female alveolar resorption frequencies) lesion frequencies increased uniformly in both sexes suggesting that the deterioration of dental health during the Early Medieval period equally affected males and females. Cumulatively, the collected data suggest that the political, social, economic and religious changes that characterised the Late Antique/Early Medieval transition in Dalmatia resulted in a clear discontinuity, not only from the cultural, but also from the biological point of view with an evident deterioration of oral health during the Early Medieval period.