Comparision of mesiodistal and bucco-lingual dimensions of permanent teeth in North-Indians and North-East Indians: Racial dimorphism as an identification parameter

Aims: Racial dimorphism refers to those differences in size, stature and appearance between two races among females and males which can be utilized to aid in identification based on dental records. Racial determination forms one of the important aspects of forensic odontology. The study evaluated the permanent teeth to assess and compare the mesiodistal and buccolingual dimensions of permanent teeth in the North Indian and North-East Indian populations. Methods: The study sample comprised of 100 subjects (50 males and 50 females). One group comprised individuals from North India, whereas, second group included individuals with ethnic origin in North-East India. Using the digital calliper, the mesiodistal and buccolingual diameters of each permanent tooth were determined. Measurements were tabulated and statistically analyzed. Using statistical program SPSS 19.0 for Windows descriptive statistics were calculated for each group independently, means were compared by sex of the mesiodistal and bucolingual dimensions of the pieces analyzed so intragrupal (Group of north Indian individuals and groups of northeast Indian individuals),significance in the mean differences were analyzed by unpaired t test for independent samples with p lessthan 0.01 and p lessthan 0.05. Results: Most of the permanent teeth examined had larger dimensions both mesiodistally and buccolingually in North-East Indians with the exception of maxillary central incisor, maxillary first premolar and maxillary second molar. In general, the group of North-East Indians showed higher racial dimorphism compared to the North Indian group. Conclusion: The study showed that there is a strong race-specific behavior in dimorphic dimensions of the teeth in both the populations.