Diagonal tooth measurements in sex assessment: A study on North Indian population

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.sidebar##

Published Aug 1, 2015
https://doi.org/10.4103/0975-1475.146371
Download
pdf
Statistic

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...
Volume 7, Issue 2, May-August 2015

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.main##

Adesh Manchanda
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and Microbiology, Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Amritsar, Punjab
Ramandeep Narang
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and Microbiology, Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Amritsar, Punjab
Sukhdeep Kahlon
Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Amritsar, Punjab
Balwinder Singh
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Amritsar, Punjab

Abstract

Background: Sexual dimorphism has been of great interest to anthropologists and odontologists. Dental measurements are important in anthropology for the study of sexual dimorphism with most common being the traditional linear odontometric measurements. Apart from these, alternative dental measurements have been developed such as the crown and cervical diagonal diameters and mesiodistal and buccolingual cervical diameters of teeth. Aims and Objective: The primary objective of the following study is to assess the degree of sexual dimorphism in teeth of a North Indian population using the crown diagonal diameters and secondary is to evaluate the applicability of diagonal measurements in sex determination by means of discriminant functional analysis. Materials and Methods: The study sample comprised 200 individuals (100 males and 100 females) of an age group ranging from 18 to 57 years, in a North Indian population. The mesiobuccal-distolingual (MBDL) and distobuccal-mesiolingual (DBML) crown diameters of seven maxillary and seven mandibular teeth on the study models were measured using digital Vernier calipers. Results: The most dimorphic teeth amongst all for crown diagonal diameters are the maxillary central incisors and the least dimorphic are the maxillary second premolars. The mean diagonal crown dimensions in all but one tooth (DBML of maxillary lateral incisor) of males exceeded that of females. The difference was statistically significant in MBDL dimensions of maxillary and mandibular central incisor, canine, first and second molar and DBML dimensions of maxillary central incisor and maxillary and mandibular canine, first molar and second molar (P < 0.05). The accuracy of determination of sex by MBDL crown dimension ranges from 55% to 75% in males and 47-84% in females, while by DBML crown dimension ranges from 55% to 80% in males and 65-80% in females with the overall accuracy of sex determination ranging from 51% to 80% respectively. Conclusion: MBDL and DBML crown dimensions are reliable indicators and can be used along with or/and instead of linear measurements in sex determination. In situations in which it is difficult to take correct measurements of linear dimensions of teeth, these alternative odontometric measurements can be used consistently to determine sex.

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.details##

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite
Adesh Manchanda, Ramandeep Narang, Sukhdeep Kahlon, & Balwinder Singh. (2015). Diagonal tooth measurements in sex assessment: A study on North Indian population. Journal of Forensic Dental Sciences, 7(2), 126–131. https://doi.org/10.4103/0975-1475.146371
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

  1. de Castro JM, Durand AI, Ipina SL. Sexual dimorphism in the human dental sample from the SH site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain): A statistical approach. J Hum Evol 1993;24:43-56.
  2. Garn SM, Kerewsky RS, Swindler DR. Canine “field” in sexual dimorphism of tooth size. Nature 1966;212:1501-2.
  3. Garn SM, LewisAB, KerewskyRS. The relationship between sexual dimorphism in tooth size and body size as studied within families. Arch Oral Biol 1967;12:299-301.
  4. Brace CL, Rosenberg KR, Hunt KD. Gradual change in human tooth size in the late Pleistocene and post-Pleistocene. Evolution 1987;41:705-20.
  5. Harris EF, Rathbun TA. Ethnic differences in the apportionment of tooth sizes. In: Kelley MA, Larsen CS, editors. Advances in Dental Anthropology. New York: Wiley-Liss; 1991. p. 121-42.
  6. Hillson S, Fitzgerald C, Flinn H. Alternative dental measurements: Proposals and relationships with other measurements. Am J Phys Anthropol 2005;126:413-26.
  7. Zorba E, Moraitis K, Eliopoulos C, Spiliopoulou C. Sex determination in modern Greeks using diagonal measurements of molar teeth. Forensic Sci Int 2012;217:19-26.
  8. Kieser JA, Groeneveld HT. The unreliability of sex allocation based on human odontometric data. JForensic Odontostomatol 1989;7:1-12.
  9. Keiser JA. Human Adult Odontometrics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1990.
  10. Garn SM, Cole PE, Van AlstineWL. Sex discriminatory effectiveness using combinations of root lengths and crown diameters. Am J Phys Anthropol 1978;50:115-8.
  11. Verhoeven JW, van Aken J, van der Weerdt GP. The length of teeth. A statistical analysis of the differences in length of human teeth for radiologic purposes. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol 1979;47:193-9.
  12. Karaman F. Use of diagonal teeth measurements in predicting gender in a Turkish population. J Forensic Sci 2006;51:630-5.
  13. Rani P, Mahima VG, Pati K. Bucco-lingual dimension of teeth-An aid in sex determination. J Forensic Dent Sci 2009;1:88-92.
  14. Acharya AB, Mainali S. Univariate sex dimorphism in the Nepalese dentition and the use of discriminant functions in gender assessment. Forensic Sci Int 2007;173:47-56.
  15. Schwartz GT, Dean MC. Sexual dimorphism in modern human permanent teeth. Am J Phys Anthropol 2005;128:312-7.
  16. Meinl A, Huber CD, Tangl S, Gruber GM, Teschler-Nicola M, Watzek G. Comparison of the validity of three dental methods for the estimation of age at death. Forensic Sci Int 2008;178:96-105.
  17. Ateş M, Karaman F, Işcan MY, Erdem TL. Sexual differences in Turkish dentition. Leg Med (Tokyo) 2006;8:288-92.
  18. González-Colmenares G, Botella-López MC, Moreno-Rueda G, Fernández-Cardenete JR. Age estimation by a dental method: A comparison of Lamendin’s and Prince and Ubelaker’s technique. J Forensic Sci 2007;52:1156-60.
  19. Randhawa K, Narang RS, Arora PC. Study of the effect of age changes on lip print pattern and its reliability in sex determination. J Forensic Odontostomatol 2011;29:45-51.
  20. AcharyaAB, Mainali S. Are dental indexes useful in sex assessment? J Forensic Odontostomatol 2008;26:53-9.
  21. Narang RS, Manchanda A, Singh B. Sex assessment by molar odontometrics in north Indian population. J Forensic Dent Sci 2015;7:54-8.
  22. Işcan MY, Kedici PS. Sexual variation in bucco‑lingual dimensions in Turkish dentition. Forensic Sci Int 2003;137:160-4.