title: Sexual dimorphism of canine volume: a pilot study.
abstract: Sex assessment is a crucial part of the biological profile in forensic and archaeological context, but it can be hardly performed in cases of commingled and charred human remains where DNA tests often are not applicable. With time literature have analyzed the sexual dimorphism of teeth (and especially canines), but very few articles take into consideration the teeth volume, although with time several technologies have been introduced in order to assess 3D volume (CT-scan, laser scanner, etc.). This study aims at assessing the sexual dimorphism of dental and pulp chamber volumes of a sample of canines. Cone beam computed tomography analyses were performed by 87 patients (41 males and 46 females, aged between 15 and 83 years) for clinical purposes, and were acquired in order to measure canine volumes. Results show that the dental volume amounted to 0.745 cm(3) (SD 0.126 cm(3)) in males, 0.551 cm(3) (SD 0.130 cm(3)) with a statistically significant difference (p<0.01). A diagnostic threshold of 0.619 cm(3) was stated, which provides a percentage of correct answer of 80.5% in the chosen sample. The novel method was then applied with success to 7 archaeological: where in all the cases the results were concordant with those provided by the assessment of the cranium and pelvis. The study adds a contribution to the wide analysis of dental sexual dimorphism confirming the statistically significant differences of volume between males and females and providing a method for the diagnosis of sex applicable to forensic cases.
authors.affiliation: LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy. Electronic address: danilo.deangelis@unimi.it.
authors.forename: Danilo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Angelis
authors.affiliation: LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gibelli
authors.affiliation: LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gaudio
authors.affiliation: Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche Orali e Biotecnologiche, Università degli Studi G. D'Annunzio Chieti-Pescara, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cipriani Noce
authors.affiliation: ULSS N. 6 Vicenza -Servizio di Genetica Umana, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Guercini
authors.affiliation: Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche Orali e Biotecnologiche, Università degli Studi G. D'Annunzio Chieti-Pescara, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Varvara
authors.affiliation: LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy; Dipartimento di Biotecnologie e Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Varese, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sguazza
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiarella
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sforza
authors.affiliation: LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D054893:Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; D003481:Cuspid / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012732:Sex Determination Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Cone beam computerized tomography (CBCT); Dental anatomy; Dental volume; Diagnosis of sex; Permanent teeth