Bucco-lingual dimension of teeth - An aid in sex determination

Abstract

Background: Bucco-lingual (B-L) dimensions of permanent teeth are known to exhibit sexual dimorphism. Objectives: Sexual dimorphism of B-L dimensions is known to be population specific. This study involves the measurement of B-L dimensions of all teeth except third molars of 99 native residents of Mysore district, Karnataka in the age group of 19-30 years. Materials and Methods: The B-L dimensional measurements of 28 teeth, except third molars, of 50 males and 49 females in the age group of 19 to 30 years were made on the study casts using vernier calipers with a resolution of 0.02 mm. The distance between the highest points on the buccal / labial and lingual / palatal surfaces were measured and analyzed using discriminant function analysis. Results: Males showed greater B-L dimensions of teeth in comparison to females with eight maxillary teeth exhibiting statistically significant dimorphism. However, discriminant function analysis showed an overall accuracy of classification of sex of 78%, among which 11 showed maximum dimorphism with a classification accuracy of 70.7% whereas both 23 and 26 showed an accuracy of 66.7%. Conclusion: Application of B-L dimensional variability among males and females in the population of Mysore can aid in sex determination in forensic scenario as the results of this study showed moderate magnitude of dimorphism in maxillary teeth with an accuracy rate of 78%. However, it is recommended to take this odontometric trait into consideration in combination with other skeletal and/or dental traits for sex determination.