Analysis of various measurements of radiographs of mandible as an indicator for sex determination

Objectives: The present study was conducted to observe various mandibular measurements using digital panoramic radiography, which can be used for sex determination. The study was done among the Maharashtran population with a sample size of 500 out of which 250 were males and 250 were females of age group 20-50yrs. Method: The parameters considered for the study were mandibular angle, distance between mental foramen and basal border of the mandible, distance between mental foramen and alveolar border of the mandible, mental foramen breadth, mental foramen height, length of the mandibular body, maximum length of the mandible, height of the mandibular body, maximum ramus breadth, minimum ramus breadth, maximum ramus height, length of the condyle, breadth of the condyle, distance between the centre of mental foramen and mental tubercle, distance between the centre of foramen mentale and gonion, bigonial width. Result: Out of these 16 variables 9 variables were highly significant for sex determination which were, distance between mental foramen and basal border of the mandible, Length of the mandibular body, Maximum length of the mandible, Length of the mandibular body, Maximum and Minimum ramus breadth, Maximum height of ramus and bigonial width were highly significant and variables, distance between the centre of mental foramen and mental tubercle were significant in determining the sex of the mandible. Conclusion: This research showed that variables length of body of mandible, maximum length of mandible, height of body of mandible, maximum and minimum breadth of ramus, height of ramus and bigonial width exhibit highest degree of sexual dimorphism.