Radiographic evaluation of mandibular ramus for gender estimation: Retrospective study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Gender estimation is a very important part of a study in the field of anthropology and forensic sciences. In the skeleton, gender estimation is the first step of the identification process as subsequent methods for age and stature estimation are sex-dependent. Skeletal components such as the pelvis and skull are investigated for gender estimation and the mandible is a practical element to analyze sexual dimorphism in fragmented bones. The aim of the present study is to measure, compare, and evaluate various measurements of the mandibular ramus, observed in digital orthopantomographs and also to assess the usefulness of the mandibular ramus as an aid in gender estimation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A radiographic retrospective study was conducted using 80 digital orthopantomographs to measure, compare, and evaluate the measurements of the mandibular ramus such as maximum ramus breadth, maximum ramus height, and coronoid heightusing Planmeca ProMax(®) digital machine to assess the usefulness of mandibular measurements in gender estimation. RESULTS: Descriptive statistics of various measurements and associated univariate F ratios for both the sexes were determined. Four variables were significant predictor in classifying a given sample (P < 0.001). The F-statistic values indicated that measurements expressing the greatest sexual dimorphism were noticed in the maximum ramus height. CONCLUSION: Mandibular ramus can be considered as a valuable tool in gender estimation and the most reliable measurements were obtained of linear objects in the horizontal plane by digital panoramic imaging.