GMS Interdisciplinary plastic and reconstructive surgery DGPW
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GMS Interdiscip Plast Reconstr Surg DGPW · Jan 2016
Predictive values derived from lower wisdom teeth developmental stages on orthopantomograms to calculate the chronological age in adolescence and young adults as a prerequisite to obtain age-adjusted informed patient consent prior to elective surgical procedures in young patients with incomplete or mismatched personal data.
Introduction: Surgical procedures require informed patient consent, which is mandatory prior to any procedure. These requirements apply in particular to elective surgical procedures. The communication with the patient about the procedure has to be comprehensive and based on mutual understanding. ⋯ Our findings could have impact, e.g. on elective surgeries for young individuals with unknown biography. However, these results cannot replace social engagement, in particular thorough physical examination of patients and careful registration of their histories. Further studies on the use of this calculation method in different ethnic groups would be desirable.