Occlusal morphology of permanent mandibular first and second molars in Gujarati population

BACKGROUND: Dental identification has been used since long time for disaster victim identification protocol. There is a difference of opinion regarding whether ethnicity influences dental morphology or not. Few studies have shown the associations between these dental features and crown traits in humans using quantitative methods. The present study is an attempt to find correlation of occlusal morphology of Gujarati population with forensic Odontology. AIM: To study different occlusal morphology of permanent mandibular first and second molars in Gujarati Population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study comprised of a total of 100 participants of Gujarati origin, selected by random sampling method. Total number of cusps and groove patterns of mandibular first and second molar were examined clinically and photographs of the same were taken. A descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and Student t-test were used for analysis of data. RESULTS: Mandibular first molar with 5 cusps in 71%, 4 cusps in 18% and 6 cusps in 11% were noted in the study. Mandibular first molars with “+” groove pattern in 39.5% and “Y” groove pattern in 60.5% were recorded. Mandibular second molar with 5 cusps in 6.5% and 4 cusps in 93.5% were recorded in the study. Mandibular second molars with “+” groove pattern in 93.5% and “Y” groove pattern in 6.5% were recorded. CONCLUSION: The most common occlusal morphology in permanent mandibular first molar is “5 cusp” and “Y” groove pattern in about 47% and for second molar is “4 cusp” and “+” groove pattern in 88.5% of Gujarati population. It may be concluded that variation in degree of expression and frequency of teeth in dentitions of different populations is different, which may help in forensic identification.