Digital Radiographic Study of Gonial angle in Forensic Odontology in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Gonial angle measurements serve as an important parameter of the craniofacial complex and are usually studied on lateral cephalograms, but recently panoramic radiographs have also been used. The aim of this study is to measure the gonial angle using orthopantomogram and lateral cephalogram based on age, gender, ethnicity, and skeletal malocclusion in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study comprising 350 selected radiographs of apparently healthy individuals collected for a period of one year, from the Department of Oral Radiology of a tertiary care centre of Nepal. Gonial angle measurements were recorded from digital panoramic radiograph (both right and left side) and lateral cephalogram. Data was collected in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, and skeletal malocclusion and then statistically analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20. RESULTS: The mean gonial angle for panoramic right, left and lateral cephalogram was 122.490±7.570, 123.620±7.060, and 124.150±6.910, respectively. There was a decrease in the mean values of the gonial angle observed as age advances seen in all the radiographs. The gonial angle measured in Class III malocclusion was higher in all the radiographs, followed by Class II and Class I. Gonial angles obtained in females were higher than the males in all the radiographs. Finally, the Aryan population showed a higher gonial angle compared to the Mongolian population in all the radiographs. CONCLUSIONS: Panoramic radiograph (left side), could be considered as a reliable tool to measure the gonial angle.