Demystifying the Mysteries: Sexual Dimorphism in Primary Teeth

Abstract

Introduction: One of the critical steps in the process of identification is the sex determination of an unknown individual. Many studies have shown that sex can be determined using the human skeleton, especially by examining the pelvis and skull. Odontometric analysis of the human sexual variation has been less investigated, especially of primary dentition. Aim:To verify the presence of sexual dimorphism in primary teeth of local population of Faridabad, Haryana, India. Materials and Methods:The research was performed on dental casts of 500 children (250 boys and 250 girls, age range 3-5 years). Mesiodistal and buccolingual crown dimensions of maxillary and mandibular primary teeth were measured with a digital Vernier's caliper and were analysed for sexual dimorphism. Mann-Whitney-U test was used to check the statistical significance of difference in tooth dimensions among boys and girls.Results: Differences were found in the mean values of mesiodistal and buccolingual diameters of primary teeth, in which boys generally had larger crown diameters than girls. Conclusion:Primary teeth may be used as an additional tool for sex identification of juvenile skeletons where other dimorphic features are not much developed.www.jcdr.net Akshara Singh et al., Demystifying the Mysteries

Odontologia Forense: sua importância e meios de identificação post mortem

“…Teeth. [18] Estudo transversal Foram encontradas diferenças nos valores médios dos diâmetros mesiodistal e bucolingual dos dentes decíduos, nos quais os meninos geralmente tinham diâmetros de coroa maiores que as meninas.…”

“…Associado ao estudo da morfoanatomia da cabeça, podemos considerar a presença de grande dimorfismo sexual na dentição decídua das crianças em geral, fator que pode ser útil na identificação do sexo do indivíduo, visto que os meninos exibem maiores dimensões na coroa dentária do que as meninas. Mesiodistalmente, os meninos mostram dimensões maiores do que as meninas para os arcos maxilar e mandibular, exceto para os incisivos laterais [18].…”

“…Para as dimensões do incisivo central maxilar, incisivo central mandibular e incisivo lateral mandibular, as meninas apresentam valores maiores. Estes achados aumentam a informação atual sobre a prevalência do dimorfismo sexual na dentição primária [18].…”

Sex estimation by odontometrics of nonadult human remains from a contemporary Italian sample

“…Over the last 60 years, following the study of Hunt Jr and Gleiser (1955) about sex estimation from osseous and dental remains of nonadult individuals, analyses have been carried out to determine a reliable method for sex estimation from teeth. Thus, numerous studies have quantified sexually dimorphic differences between males and females through odontometric techniques, with the demonstration that sexual dimorphism results in larger teeth in males than females in permanent dentition (Adams & Pilloud, 2019; Angadi, Hemani, Prabhu, & Acharya, 2013; Capitaneanu, Willems, Jacobs, Fieuws, & Thevissen, 2017; Hassett, 2011; Kazzazi & Kranioti, 2017, 2018; Khamis, Taylor, Malik, & Townsend, 2014; Luna, 2019; Peckmann, Logar, Garrido‐Varas, Meek, & Pinto, 2016; Peckmann, Meek, Dilkie, & Mussett, 2015; Shaweesh, 2017; Sonika, Harshaminder, Madhushankari, & Sri Kennath, 2011; Tardivo et al, 2015; Viciano, Alemán, D'Anastasio, Capasso, & Botella, 2011; Viciano, D'Anastasio, & Capasso, 2015; Viciano, López‐Lázaro, & Alemán, 2013; Yong et al, 2018; Zorba, Moraitis, Eliopoulos, & Spiliopoulou, 2012; Zorba, Moraitis, & Manolis, 2011; Zorba, Vanna, & Moraitis, 2014) and deciduous teeth (López‐Lázaro, Alemán, Viciano, Irurita, & Botella, 2018; Paknahad, Vossoughi, & Ahmadi Zeydabadi, 2016; Shankar et al, 2013; Singh, Bhatia, Sood, & Sharma, 2017; Viciano et al, 2013; Żądzińska, Karasińska, Jedrychowska‐Dańska, Watala, & Witas, 2008).…”

Variación morfométrica de la dentición decidua en el período fetal e infantil y evaluación de los tejidos dentarios

“…Por otro lado, los molares de ambas arcadas presentaron un mayor diámetro en individuos masculinos, al mismo tiempo que resultaron ser las más dimórficas, lo que concuerda con lo propuesto por Margetts y Brown ( ), Zadsinska (2008, Adler y Donlon (2010), Viciano Badal et al (2013) y Singh et al (2017. La existencia de dientes más grandes en individuos femeninos toma el nombre de dimorfismo inverso y ha sido reportado tanto para dentición decidua como permanente.…”