Abstract
Background:
Mesiodistal and buccolingual measurements of the teeth have been the traditional means of determining gender which sometimes are difficult to measure.
Aims and Objectives:
To assess the degree of sexual dimorphism in upper permanent canines and first molars using diagonal diameters and to evaluate the applicability of diagonal measurements in sex determination.
Materials and Methods:
Mesiobuccal-distolingual (MBDL) and distobuccal-mesiolingual (DBML) measurements of the crown and cervix of maxillary canine and maxillary molar were taken using digital vernier callipers in 100 upper dental casts obtained from 50 males and 50 females of the age group of 17-25 y.
Results:
With step wise discriminant function analysis, results were statistically significant with males showing higher diagonal measurement values. The classification accuracy for males was 69% and in females was 73% with overall accuracy of 71%. Results showed that canines exhibited highest accuracy with cervical measurements being more dimorphic. MBDL measurements were found to be more reliable. Most dimorphicmeasurements included right molar cervical MBDL, left molar cervical MBDL followed by right and left molar crown MBDL.
Conclusion:
In cases of tooth rotations, crowding, certain fillings and attritions where traditional mesio-distal and bucco-lingual measurements are not applicable, diagonal measurements could be of help in predicting gender.