The study aim was to determine the time interval of the first, X-ray detectable M3 sign, as well as the crown formation. Simultaneously, the symmetry of their development in both jaws and bilaterally was monitored. We analyzed 696 orthopantomographic radiographs of children from Niš, 7-16 years old, applying the scheme by Morress. Dental follicles were found in 72.58% of 7-12 years old children, most often in the age from 8 to 10 years. A high percentage (87.10%) of asymmetric development in the jaws was registered, while the asymmetry of the left and the right side was much rarer (30%) and more frequent in the mandible (22%). In 54.63%, the mandible took precedence regarding the M3 development. Crown formation was registered in the age of 9 to 16, most frequently of 12 years (22%). Asymmetric development appeared in 68.5% of the examined population, with the advantage in the maxilla (52.7%). The maxilla had a slight advantage in bilateral asymmetries (18.5% : 15.7%). .
