Abstract
Aims: Racial dimorphism refers to those differences in size, stature and appearance between two races among females and males which can be utilized to aid in identification based on dental records. Racial determination forms one of the important aspects of forensic odontology. The study evaluated the permanent teeth to assess and compare the mesiodistal and buccolingual dimensions of permanent teeth in the North Indian and North-East Indian populations. Methods: The study sample comprised of 100 subjects (50 males and 50 females). One group comprised individuals from North India, whereas, second group included individuals with ethnic origin in North-East India. Using the digital calliper, the mesiodistal and buccolingual diameters of each permanent tooth were determined. Measurements were tabulated and statistically analyzed. Using statistical program SPSS 19.0 for Windows descriptive statistics were calculated for each group independently, means were compared by sex of the mesiodistal and bucolingual dimensions of the pieces analyzed so intragrupal (Group of north Indian individuals and groups of northeast Indian individuals),significance in the mean differences were analyzed by unpaired t test for independent samples with p lessthan 0.01 and p lessthan 0.05. Results: Most of the permanent teeth examined had larger dimensions both mesiodistally and buccolingually in North-East Indians with the exception of maxillary central incisor, maxillary first premolar and maxillary second molar. In general, the group of North-East Indians showed higher racial dimorphism compared to the North Indian group. Conclusion: The study showed that there is a strong race-specific behavior in dimorphic dimensions of the teeth in both the populations.
Highlights
Racial gender determination using dental features involves either the estimation of dimensions of teeth in both the genders or comparision of occurrence of various non-metric dental traits like deflecting wrinkle of the mandibular first molars, Carabelli’s trait of maxillary molars, distal accessory ridge of the maxillary and mandibular canines or shovelling of the maxillary central incisors [1]. This is based on the fact that, the tooth dimensions are not the same in males and females, they have similar tooth morphology as the tooth size is determined by different factors that include environmental, genetic, cultural and racial variations [2]
The size of teeth is of great importance in establishing sexual dimorphism
The shape and dimensions of teeth does not change. They can be seen as a determining factor in providing racial dimorphism in skeletal remains, which is required for forensic identification purposes
Summary
Racial gender determination using dental features involves either the estimation of dimensions of teeth in both the genders or comparision of occurrence of various non-metric dental traits like deflecting wrinkle of the mandibular first molars, Carabelli’s trait of maxillary molars, distal accessory ridge of the maxillary and mandibular canines or shovelling of the maxillary central incisors [1] This is based on the fact that, the tooth dimensions are not the same in males and females, they have similar tooth morphology as the tooth size is determined by different factors that include environmental, genetic, cultural and racial variations [2]. The variety of teeth, number and morphology in each individual, is a fact, which increases its importance as an identifying element as well as an excellent material for various investigations [3]
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