Sex estimation method using cervical canine diameters: a validation study

• Main Author: Rector, Jacquelyn N.
• Language: en_US
• Published: Boston University 2017
• Subjects: Forensic science; Bioforensics; Sex estimation
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2144/21246

Thesis (M.S.F.S.) PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at [e-mail]. Thank you. === This thesis presents a validation study of the research by Hassett (2011). It examined the permanent canines’ cervical diameters using established measurement techniques set forth by Hillson et al. (2005) to determine sex in a known population of male and female adults and juveniles. The present study combined the Maxwell Collection, housed at University of New Mexico, and the Hamann-Todd Collection, housed at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, as the known-sex sample. The sample included 642 permanent canines resulting in 862 measurements from 218 individuals. There were 120 males and 98 females between the ages of 12 and 98 years old. Of the 218 individuals, 148 were White, 62 were Black, 2 were Hispanic, 1 was Native American, and 5 were an unknown ancestry. The measurements used were the cervical mesiodistal diameter and the cervical buccolingual diameter of each upper and lower, right and left canine. The author hypothesized that research conducted on this known age skeletal collection sample would support Hassett (2011), who concluded that the cervical diameter of the canine is sexually dimorphic and can be used to predict sex accurately. In addition, it was predicted that there would not be a significant statistical difference between adult and juvenile permanent canine measurements. An intra-observer error test found that original and repeated measures were not statistically different from one another. Statistical analysis found that adults and juveniles did not have significantly different measurements, so the two samples were combined into one larger known-sex sample. The accuracy of all the functions for both sexes using the cervical diameter method is between 80.2% and 87.5%. The fourth function’s formula, which uses both diameters from one maxillary canine and one mandibular canine, had the best overall accuracy of 87.1%. The accuracy of all the functions for males was between 81.1% and 91.7% and for females the accuracy was between 74.8% and 89.7%. Analysis also indicated that no tooth nor measurement proved to be a better predictor of sex; therefore, any tooth and measurement can be used to estimate sex. The author believes that this validation will allow further research into the applicability of the permanent canine using cone-beam computed tomography to determine sex in juveniles whose permanent canines have not yet erupted. This determination is highly significant, given the dearth of usable techniques to sex juvenile human remains. === 2031-01-01