Abstract
Background/Aim: Gender determination is one of the most challenging tasks in medico-legal research and forensic dentistry. Several skeletal components are investigated for this purpose and the mandible is one of them. The mandible has several specific anatomical features. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of measurements related to the mental foramen, gonial angle and antegonial angle on gender determination using digital panoramic radiographs. Material and Methods: A retrospective study was planned with 150 digital panoramic radiographs (75 males and 75 females, aged between 20 to 49 years). The radiographs were analyzed by dividing them into two equal gender groups (male and female). Several parameters were compared to determine the gender. The distances from the superior and inferior border of the mental foramen to the basis of the mandible on the right side were measured. Gonial and antegonial angles were evaluated bilaterally. The difference between the males and females were analyzed with independent samples t-test (p<0.05). Results: There was statistically significant difference between the males and females in terms of all the evaluated parameters (p<0.05). The distances related to mental foramen is higher in the males however gonial and antegonial angles are larger in the females. Conclusions: The mental foramen position, gonial and antegonial angles can be used to predict the gender in Turkish population.
Highlights
The determination of human skeletal components is important in criminal cases for advanced analysis[1,2]
The structure of the mandibular ramus may vary according to the gender, because mandibular growth and development is different in both genders
Panoramic radiographs of 150 patients (75 females and 75 males of Turkish population between the ages of 20 and 49 years) were selected from the archive of patients who were referred to the Maxillofacial Radiology Clinic for routine dental procedures
Summary
The determination of human skeletal components is important in criminal cases for advanced analysis[1,2]. If the whole adult bone structure is available, gender can be determined . Gender determination in forensic dentistry and human anthropology is mainly based on anatomical variations and various skeletal morphological characteristics that can be used to distinguish males from females[5,6]. In these cases, the mandible may play a vital role in sex determination, because it is the strongest and the most dimorphic bone of the skull, and has a dense layer of compact bone[7,8,9]. The mandible is the most reliable one for discriminating the sex, the anatomical
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