Odontometric analysis of canines to establish sexual dimorphism in an urban population

Abstract

Teeth are the most durable part of the skeleton. Under most of the adverse conditions occurring in nature like putrefaction, mutilation, fire and prolonged immersion in water, teeth are the most indestructible part of the body and may survive all these challenges. Due to this, the use of dental morphology to determine sexual dimorphism is a procedure established in anthropological and biological studies. Among all teeth, canines are found to exhibit greatest sexual dimorphism. This study aimed to determine the gender of an individual based on the bucco-lingual dimensions of the canines and the inter-canine arch width and analyse if any sexual variation existed in them. It was a cross sectional study. In the present study, 50 male and 50 female volunteers residing in Navi Mumbai; in the age group of 18-60 years were selected to observe the sexual dimorphism in the bucco-lingual crown dimensions of the canine and difference in inter-canine width. The bucco-lingual dimensions were measured on the study casts as the greatest distance between the buccal and the lingual surfaces of the canine crown with a digital Vernier calliper. The inter-canine width was measured between the tips of the canines with the calliper beaks placed along the long axis of the teeth. Unpaired 't' test and ROC curve using SPSS 21.0 statistical programme for Windows. It was found that the bucco-lingual dimension was significantly larger in males as compared to females and the difference was statistically significant. The difference in mandibular inter-canine arch width was statistically significant. The study defines that the bucco-lingual dimensions are more reliable criteria for sexual dimorphism in Navi Mumbai population than the inter-canine arch width. Thus, it is indicated that the dimorphism in canines can be of immense medico-legal use in identification and gender determination.