Morphometric analysis of canine in gender determination: revisited in India.

Background And Aim: Teeth are excellent material for anthropological, genetic and odontologic investigations in both living and dead population. Canines are the ideal teeth for identification of sex, due to its sexual dimorphism and durability in the oral cavity. This study tests the effectiveness of the canine tooth in predicting sex of an individual.

Materials And Methods: This study involved 60 males and 60 females between the age group of 20-30 years. Mesio-distal (MD) widths of maxillary and mandibular right and left canines and inter-canine distance of both arches were measured clinically and on cast for all patients. Standard canine indices were derived from these dimensions and tested for sexual dimorphism and reliability of canine teeth in gender determination by comparison with the known gender of the population under investigation.

Results: All measurements showed significant sexual dimorphism. Standard mandibular canine index (CI) was found to be more reliable in gender estimation than the MD width of canine and CI values.

Interpretation And Conclusion: Use of the standard mandibular CI in gender determination is recommended for forensic procedures as it was found to have an acceptable accuracy. MD width of canine may be used in a setup when only the single tooth or a fragment of a jaw is available for analysis, with due consideration to its relatively low accuracy.