Gender Determination by Radiographic Evaluation of Condylar Length, Coronoid Height and Gonial Angle

Introduction: Forensic dentistry plays an important role in the identification of the gender of an individual in situations like natural disasters (eg. earthquakes, floods, etc.) or man-made disasters (such as accidents and bombings). Among all the bones in the human body, the pelvis and the skull show the maximum sexual dimorphism. But in cases where an intact skull is not found, the mandible becomes our first choice for gender determination, as it is covered with dense, compact bone, which makes it very durable and well-preserved. Aims and Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of condylar height, coronoid height and gonial angle of the mandible for sex determination using orthopantomography and to compare and determine the most reliable parameter for gender determination. Materials and Method: This study was conducted using digital panoramic images of 25 patients of each gender. The images captured were viewed on AutoCAD 2014 software and were subjected to measurements of the condylar, coronoid heights and gonial angles both on the left and right side using AutoCAD 2014 imaging software. The data was entered into a Microsoft Excel sheet and statistical analysis was done. Results: The Student t-test showed significant (P < 0.05) differences and higher values for both condylar height and coronoid height on both the right and left sides of males as compared to females. However, the difference in the mean gonial angle on both the right and left sides did not differ (P > 0.05) between the two genders. All three variables were higher in males as compared to females. Conclusion: The parameters such as condylar height, coronoid height and gonial angle using orthopantomographs are reliable in gender determination and the condylar height of the left side is the best parameter in gender determination.