Morphometric analysis of palatal vault for sex determination in Central Indian population

BACKGROUND: Palate has been a topic of interest regarding sex determination from human skeletal remains in physical anthropology. Palatal index (PI) is an important parameter for the sex determination of deceased individuals with unknown identity. AIM: The study aimed to determine and compare PI, clinically and radiographically, and evaluate its role in sexual dimorphism in the Central Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted on 392 participants, in the department of anatomy and dentistry of a premium medical college in India. Maxillary casts were used for clinical measurement. Posteroanterior and lateral cephalogram (Ceph) were used for the radiographic method. Palatal length (PL) and palatal breadth (PB) were measured. PI was calculated as PB/PL × 100. Data were analyzed using unpaired Student's t-test. RESULTS: Participants belonged to the age group of 41–50 years (31.63%), 51–60 years (27.04%), and 18–30 years (18.87%). Clinical and radiographic PB was found to be higher in males (37.94 ± 1.28 mm, 38.87 ± 3.11 mm) than females (35.44 ± 1.18 mm, 36.62 ± 2.75 mm). PL demonstrated almost similar clinical values in males (45.25 ± 1.65 mm) and females (45.21 ± 1.51 mm) with no statistical significance. Radiographic PL was significantly higher in males (48.28 ± 1.60 mm) than females (46.41 ± 1.69 mm). Males demonstrated higher PI, clinically and radiographically (83.84 ± 3.82 mm, 80.51 ± 5.32 mm), than females (78.38 ± 4.19 mm, 78.91 ± 5.06 mm). CONCLUSION: Palatal parameters showed significant differences suggesting sexual dimorphism. They serve as important anthropometric, clinical, and radiographic tools useful in the identification of deceased individuals as a part of forensic medicine and odontology.