Assessment of sexual dimorphism using 3D CBCT image data among Indians.

It is of interest to investigate the use of frontal sinus morphology, bizygomatic and intermaxillary distance for the determination of gender using Cone-Beam Computer Tomography (CBCT). The study population consisted of 75 subjects (35 females and 40 males) with a mean age of 39.25 years (range: 20-70 years), of ethnic group of south-Indian based population. The data was categorized into three age groups of 20-35, 36-50 and ≥ 50 years. All the features and measurements are recorded for each case using CBCT images that were acquired with a CBCT scanner (Planmeca Mid Proface Cone Beam 3D, Helsinki Finland). The data were subjected to a discriminant functional analysis, compared and statistically analyzed. No two persons had the same measurements. Statistically significant differences were found in the frequency of overall metric parameters between the two genders (P < 0.05) except intermaxillary distance (P = -0.034) respectively. These data provide a valuable tool in differentiating gender. It should be noted that bizygomatic distance can significantly improve the gender determination using discriminant analysis. Cone beam computed tomography is a safe procedure with minimal radiation exposure proved to be highly accurate in sinus imaging and provide irreplaceable and precise information about frontal sinus and the whole skull. Measurements showed significant difference except intermaxillary distance and intersinus width among the three age groups. The discriminant analysis showed that the ability of frontal sinus parameters and bizygomatic distance to identify gender with high accuracy.