Introduction: The identification of human skeletal remains plays a crucial role in forensic investigation and its accuracy depends on the available parts of the skeleton. The mandible is the hardest and strongest bone of the skull, which exhibits a high degree of sexual dimorphism and helps to identify the sex in human remains. The aim of this study was to develop discriminant function to determine sex from the mandibular radiographs in a South Indian (Visakhapatnam) population.
Materials and methods: This retrospective study consisted of 384 (192 males and 192 females) digital orthopantomographs (OPGs) divided into five groups according to age. Ten mandibular variables were measured using Planmeca Romexis software. The data were tabulated and subjected to discriminant function analyses using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 20.0) package.
Results: All the parameters showed a significant sexual dimorphism (P < 0.001) except for the gonial angle. An overall accuracy of 75.8% was achieved and coronoid height (CrH) was the single best parameter providing an accuracy of 74.1%.
Conclusion: All the mandibular variables except for the gonial angle (GA) were found to be reliable in determining the sex in South Indians for forensic purposes.
Keywords: Discriminant function; forensic dentistry; mandible; orthopantomographs; sex determination.