Clinical Sensitivity and Specificity of Mandibular Canine Index and Mesiodistal Canine Width to Estimate Sex: Adjustment of a Predictive Model

Lagos, Denisse; Ciocca, Luis; Cáceres, Dante

Summary

Teeth are an excellent research material in living persons and in corpses, in the anthropological, genetic, dental and forensic fields, because of their characteristics (hardness, resistance to chemical attack, fire and decay). Mandibular canine teeth are the least affected by periodontal disease, the least extracted teeth, are more resistant to severe trauma and have a greater sexual dimorphism. They can be used for sex estimation, through the Mandibular Canine Index (MCI). The purpose of this study is to determine the accuracy of the MCI in sex estimation, compared to the mesiodistal canine width method. The study was conducted on 150 subjects (M:F= 65:85), aged 18–24. The mesiodistal width of canine and the intercanine distance were measured on the obtained models, and the MCI was calculated. The sensitivity and specificity for each of the two indexes were also calculated. MCI had a sensitivity of 33.85% and a specificity of 75.29 % in sex estimation. The mesiodistal width of canine had a sensitivity of 66.15 % and a specificity of 84.71 %. The mesiodistal width of canine has a higher sensitivity and specificity than the MCI in the medicolegal estimation of sex.

KEY WORDS: mandibular canine, canine width, intercanine distance, mandibular canine index.

How to cite this article

LAGOS, D.; CIOCCA, L. & CÁCERES, D. Clinical sensitivity and specificity of mandibular canine index and of mesiodistal canine width to estimate sex: adjustment of a predictive model. Int. J. Odontostomat., 10(2):177183, 2016.