Mandibular Ramus: An Indicator for Gender Determination

Abstract

Background The goal of this study is to use digital orthopantomographs (OPGs) to find out the role the mandibular ramus plays in figuring out a person's gender. Methodology Six hundred digital OPGs of patients, aged 21 to 50 years of either gender, fulfilling the exclusion and inclusion criteria, were randomly selected from the department archives exclusively for this digital retrospective study. All the scans were anonymized before the analysis. A total of seven measurements (in mm) were performed on OPGs, namely, minimum and maximum widths of the ramus, minimum and maximum condylar heights, maximum height of the ramus and coronoid, gonial angle bilaterally, and bigonial width. The data obtained was statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0. (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), by a stepwise discriminant functional analysis for gender determination. Results Linear measurements, including maximum and minimum widths of the ramus, maximum height of the condyle, height of the ramus, and coronoid and bigonial width, revealed more values in males than in females. However, the gonial angle showed higher average values in females than in males. Moreover, all seven parameters showed statistically insignificant age-related changes. Conclusions The mandibular ramus showed high sexual dimorphism, and its analysis on OPG can be a valuable aid in the determination of gender in the fields of forensic odontology and anthropology.

Keywords: digital opg; forensic odontology; gender determination; gonial angle; mandibular ramus; orthopantomograph; sexual dimorphism.

Figure 1. Image showing OPG measurements.

OPG, orthopantomograph