Mesiodistal width of canines: a tool for sex determination

Abstract

Teeth, in the living as well as the dead, are the most useful objects in the field of forensic investigation. Their ability to survive in situations like mass disasters makes them important tools in victim identification. Though the morphology and structure is similar in both men and women, there are subtle differences. Variation in dental size can give a clue about differences between the sexes. Many authors have measured the crowns of teeth in both men and women and found certain variations. Canines, reported to survive air crash and hurricane disasters, are perhaps the most stable teeth in the oral cavity because of the labiolingual thickness of the crown and the root anchorage in the alveolar process of the jaws. Measurement of mesiodistal width of the mandibular and maxillary canines provides good evidence of sex identification due to dimorphism.