Odontometrical method useful in determining gender and dental alignment

Rao et al.'s method of sex determination, which considers the mandibular canine index (MCI) is one giving satisfactory results. However, they did not take occlusion into consideration. The aim of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the effectiveness of this method with respect to tooth alignment. The study population involved the students enrolled in the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis. Two hundred and ten girls and 214 boys were randomly sampled (1/20). Both tooth sizes and dental arches were measured using a vernier calliper to calculate MCI for both sexes. The results were compared to standard MCI, taking into account tooth alignment.Rao et al.'s method can only be used in the case of correct lower-anterior dental alignment and by using the standard MCI of the local population.