Sex Determination in Deltans using Mandibular Canine
P. O. Otuaga* and L. E. Chris-OzokoDepartment of Anatomy School of Basic Medical Sciences Delta State University Abraka, (Nigeria).
Abstract: Teeth are an excellent material for genetic, odontologic, anthropological and forensic investigations. Amongst all teeth, mandibular canines are found to exhibit the greatest sexual dimorphism. In this study, sex determination in Deltans was evaluated using the mandibular canine index. The results were subjected to statistical analysis and were found to be highly significant. A total of two hundred (200) individuals (Deltans), a hundred (100) males and a hundred females in the age group seventeen to twenty-one years were selected for this study because minimal attrition occurs in this group. The 200 subjects were students of School of Basic Medical Sciences, Abraka, whose parents are of Delta State origin. The range of right canine width (mm) and left canine width (mm) were 7.3-8.3, 7.5-8.4 for males and 6.8-7.8, 6.85-7.65 for females respectively. Sexual dimorphism was higher in the right canine with a value of 8.580%. The probability of sex determination for males was 50.94% and females was 49.06%. The overall probability of sex determination was 50%. However, the probability that the sex was male when either canine was greater than 7.8mm was as high as 100%. This study establishes the existence of a structurally significant sexual dimorphism in the morphology of mandibular canines in Deltan population.
Keywords: Mandibular canine index; sex determination; Deltans Back to TOC