Orthodontic study models as an aid for sex determination in Uttarakhand population

Introduction: Physical characteristics and the protection from the bone jaw preserve the dentition even when the bony structures of the body are destroyed. Due to this, the use of dental morphology to determine sexual dimorphism is a procedure established in anthropological and biological studies. Aim: This study aims to evaluate sexual dimorphism in crown width and cusp parameters of permanent maxillary first and second molars in Uttarakhand population. Materials and methods: A sample of 100 maxillary dental casts of Uttarakhand population (50 males, 50 females, and aged 15-25 years) was selected. Eight parameters were determined for each of the left maxillary first and second molars using a digital vernier caliper: four crown width measurements (buccolingual, mesiodistal, mesiobuccal–distolingual and distobuccal–mesiolingual) and four cusp measurements (hypocone, protocone, paracone and metacone) were taken. The percentage of sexual dimorphism for each parameter was computed. Results: BL width showed highest sexual dimorphism when compared all eight parameters in both first and second molars. The highest sexual dimorphism was shown by paracone in the first molar and hypocone in the second molar. Conclusion: Based on this study, odontometric measurements of maxillary molars provide low to moderate sexual dimorphism.