Study Of Morphometric Evalaution Of Cadaver Mandible.

Background: The largest and strongest bone of the face, the mandible has several morphometric features that serve in identification of sex which is the first step towards age, stature and ethnicity determination. Increase in natural calamities, accidents and violent crimes have resulted in increase in mutilated faces or unidentified bodies parts that pose a great challenge for forensic experts, plastic and maxillofacial surgeons. Mandible is one of the most durable bones of skull, and mandibular remains from excavation sites is representative of the population and is of interest to anthropologists. Features of the lower jaw is of interest to orthodontic and plastic surgeons due to more people wanting to correct dental and facial asymmetries. Objectives of the study: The present study aims to explore and measure bi-condylar and bigonial width, angle of mandible, goniognation length, mandibular height and Bonwill's triangle of mandibles in our population. Materials and methods: The present study was conducted in Department of Anatomy at our hospital 80 (44 male, 36 female) dry adult human mandibles were studied. Fractured, pathological or deformed bones were excluded. Digital vernier callipers and mandibulometer were used to measure: Height of Mandible, Angle of Mandible, Bicondylar width, Bi-gonial width Goniognation Length and Bonwill's Triangle. Results: Only 16% were equilateral in males and 40 % in females, rest of the triangles are isosceles in both genders. The mean length of the sides were less than 10cm and lesser for females. Dimensions of Bonwill's triangles show strong positive correlation in both genders between mid-incisor to right condyle and mid-incisor to left condyle. Conclusion: Sex determination has always been an integral part in biological profiling. The mandible has dimorphic traits which can be successfully applied for sex determination. But reliability lies on population-specific morphometric data. Applying an average Bonwill's triangle values for making articulators and prosthetics for all races has resulted in errors in full mouth reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]