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Gender aesthetics in the natural dentition
T P Hyde1, F McCord, T Macfarlane
1Turner Dental School, University Dental Hospital of Manchester, UK.
Summary
Experts cannot reliably determine patient gender from upper anterior teeth alone. Visual assessment of dental casts showed only a slight accuracy, highlighting limitations in using tooth morphology for gender identification.
Area of Science:
- Forensic Dentistry
- Anthropology
- Dental Morphology
Background:
- Determining biological sex is crucial in forensic identification.
- Dental characteristics are sometimes used as indicators of sex.
- The reliability of anterior tooth morphology for gender assessment is debated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the size, position, and angulation of upper anterior teeth can indicate a patient's gender.
- To evaluate the accuracy of expert visual assessment of dental casts for gender determination.
Main Methods:
- Forty-six dental casts of natural teeth were analyzed.
- Eleven dental experts were tasked with assessing the gender of the patients based on the casts.
- Statistical analysis using kappa values was performed to measure observer agreement.
Main Results:
- Intra-observer agreement among experts was fair (kappa = 0.33).
- Inter-observer agreement was also fair (kappa = 0.23).
- Experts correctly identified gender in approximately 55% of cases for both male and female casts.
Conclusions:
- Visual assessment of upper anterior teeth on dental casts alone is insufficient for accurate gender determination by experts.
- The morphological features of anterior teeth, as assessed visually, do not provide a reliable basis for distinguishing between male and female patients.