Applicability of the mandibular canine index for sex estimation: a systematic review

Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences

Ademir Franco¹  Maille Ferreira Nunes Rocha²  Paulo Henrique Viana Pinto²  Ricardo Henrique Alves da Silva³ 

[1] Division of Forensic Dentistry, Sao Leopoldo Mandic Research Centre, R. Jose Rocha Junqueira n. 13, Campinas, SP, Brazil;Department of Therapeutic Stomatology, Institute of Dentistry, Sechenov University, Bolshaya Pyrogovskaya Ulitsa n. 9, Moscow, Russia;Centre of Forensic and Legal Medicine and Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Dundee, Nethergate DD1 4HN, Dundee, UK;Pathology and Forensic Medicine Graduate Program, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, USP – University of São Paulo. Departamento de Patologia e Medicina Legal. Avenida Bandeirantes, n° 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil;School of Dentistry of Ribeirão Preto, USP – University of São Paulo. Postal address: Departamento de Estomatologia, Saúde Coletiva e Odontologia Legal. Avenida do Café, s/n, Bairro Monte Alegre, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil;

关键词: Forensic anthropology;    Forensic dentistry;    Odontometry;    Tooth;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s41935-022-00270-w

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe Mandibular Canine Index (MCI) comprises a method of sex estimation by teeth that presents controversial results in the literature.Main bodyThis systematic review aims to expose whether MCI can be used as a method of reliable sex estimation. A literature search was performed using the keywords “canine,” “sex,” “gender,” “determination,” “estimation,” “dimorphism,” “assessment,” “forensic” in the databases Pubmed, Scopus, Lilacs, Scielo, and Web of Science. In addition, manual searches were carried out on the reference lists of the selected articles to cover the largest number of articles of interest as possible. Studies that performed the measurements only on maxillary canines, scientific conferences abstract books, case reports and literature reviews were excluded. The assessment of methodological quality and risk of bias was carried out based on a checklist for cross-sectional studies and another for accuracy studies. Thus, 53 articles were selected, 13 of which were accurate and 40 were cross-sectional. All accuracy articles were assessed as low risk. Among cross-sectional articles, seven were considered to be of low risk, 31 of moderate risk, and two of high risk. The accuracy of the sex estimate by MCI was verified and, despite varying among studies, the minimum and maximum values found were, respectively, 20% and 87.5% for women and 40.6% and 94% for men.ConclusionThe accuracy of the MCI was variable and should be used with caution and as an auxiliary method of sex estimation.

【 授权许可】

CC BY