Determination of gender using odontometric measurement of maxilla

Abstract

Introduction: Gender pertains to characteristics that distinguish females from males. A number of researches have
been conducted to determine gender by calculating femoral length, inter-acromial distance and so on. Forensic
odontology is a branch of dentistry which focuses on the identification of deceased individuals, it is significant in
determining the gender with the application of dental principals. With the application of forensic odontology, age
estimations of both living and deceased person, analysis of bite marks found on victims or identification of bite marks
on substances can be done.
Aim: In this study, the odontometric measurements of inter distance between maxillary second premolar was used in
order to determine the gender of individuals.
Materials and methods:
A total of 60 individuals participated in this study, who included 30 males and 30 females. This study was conducted
on individuals of the age group 18-19 years. The maxillary second interpremolar distance was measured between the
buccal sides using a digital vernier caliper after getting informed consent from the participants.
Results: The results of the study revealed that the mean value of odontometric measurements of interpremolar distance
in males was greater than that of females. Wilcoxon signed rank test was done. The p value was 0.001 (p<0.05). So,
it is statistically significant,
Conclusion : From this study it can be concluded that odontometric measurements of maxillary inter-premolar
distance was a reliable parameter for analysing the gender of individuals, showing statistical significance using
Wilcoxon signed rank test hence sexual dimorphism was determined.