Sexual dimorphism in buccolingual diameter of canines in North Indian population

Abstract

Introduction: Teeth are the most durable part of the skeleton. Under most conditions occurring in nature like putrefaction, mutilation, fire and prolonged immersion in water, teeth are the least destructible part of the body as these may readily survive all these changes. Teeth are useful in determination of the gender by using different odontometric techniques. Among all the teeth, the canines are found to exhibit greatest sexual dimorphism. Materials and Methods: In the present study, 53 male and 56 female volunteers of North Indian origin; in the age group of 18‑25 years were selected to observe the sexual dimorphism in the buccolingual crown diameter of the maxillary and mandibular canines. Dental casts of the volunteers were made after getting their written consent. The buccolingual diameter of the canines was measured on the study casts as the greatest distance between the buccal and lingual surface of the canine crown with a digital vernier calipers. Results: It was found that the buccolingual diameter was significantly larger in the males as compared to the females and the difference was highly statistically significant. The sexual dimorphism in the buccolingual diameter of maxillary canines was found to be 8.88% on the right side and 7.78% on the left side. In the mandibular canines, the sexual dimorphism was 9.26% on the right side and 8.94% on the left side. Conclusion: The study defines the morphometric criteria for canines in North Indian population and the results indicate that the dimorphism in canines can be of immense medico‑legal use in identification and gender determination. Original Article