Estimation of Sex From Dental Arch Dimensions: An Odontometric Analysis

Abstract

Sex estimation is one of the ''big three'' of human identification and is a vital aspect of the process of generating biological profile of unknown deceased. Anthropometric and odontometric methods that utilize measurement of distances between certain landmarks are commonly employed to differentiate between the 2 sexes. Teeth are the most robust and well-preserved parts of the human body, and studies have shown that the sex of an unknown individual can be estimated using their measurements. The present study was carried out to analyze the sex differences based on the dental arch dimensions of both the jaws in an Indian population. A proper understanding of dental arch dimensions not only help forensic odontologists in human identification, but also help dental practitioners in teeth restoration, and to quantify selection of anterior teeth in bonding of dentures. The dental arch dimensions of the canines, premolars, and the molars of both the jaws were recorded in dental casts of 307 participants. Comparison of the dental arch dimensions of males and females was done and logistic regression models were generated to estimate sex. Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis was done to find out the potential to estimate sex for all the dental arch dimensions in both the sexes. It was observed that maxillary intermolar II distance gave the best results in estimating the sex. The sexing accuracy is seen to increase as we go distally from canines to molars in each jaw; minimum for intercanine distance and maximum for distance between the 2nd molars. The sexing accuracy from dental arch dimensions was found to be between 72.7% and 86.5%. The models derived for estimation of sex from dental arch dimensions can be used in cases of skeletal remains.

Morphometric Analysis of Permanent Canines: Preliminary Findings on Odontometric Sex Dimorphism

“…To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the only study that used these three measurements for the analysis, and their measurements found varied in males and females. A Serbian study (39) used Moorrees and Reed's method [50] to determine measurements of the canines in the present study; the authors used the Gran [22,23] method.…”

“…Sex identification has become one of the essential parameters in any forensic investigation. Teeth have been considered by the majority of the researchers [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ] for sex determination with the aid of odontometric analysis. The odontometric parameters offer an alternative, easy and dependable approach to sex determination [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”

“…Various researchers performed on different teeth to establish dental sex dimorphism. The majority of the studies used canines [ 22 , 40 , 41 , 43 ] for sex dimorphism, and some of the researchers also used first permanent molars [ 31 , 44 , 45 ], incisors [ 46 ], and all teeth [ 47 ] for the analysis. In the present study, the authors used morphometrics of canines to study sex dimorphism.…”

“…The majority of the studies reported on sex dimorphism used dental casts for the morphometric analysis [ 13 , 19 , 22 , 23 , 25 , 37 , 39 , 41 , 42 , 46 ]. The morphometric analysis of teeth was performed using either casts or intraoral measurements.…”

“…The majority of researchers use the mandibular canine index that is considered as a reliable source for sex determination. Mesiodistal and labiolingual widths, inter canine width (ICW) and the canine index of the permanent teeth are the most frequently used in determining sex [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Among them, the majority of researchers prefer mandibular canines for the assessment.…”