ESTIMATION OF CANINE DIMENSIONS AS PREDICTORS OF SEX IN THE SOUTHERN BULGARIAN POPULATION

Purpose. Sex determination in forensic anthropology is an essential step for medicolegal purposes and very important for identification, as the number of possible matches will be halved. A dental profile includes all the individual dental traits and dimensions which can provide significant information on such human biological problems as the genetic relationships between populations and human environmental adaptation. The purpose of this research was to determine the sex differences in dental measurements of canines, inter-canine width, and canine indices in Bulgarians. Material and Methods. The study included 169 subjects of Bulgarian origin in the age group of 20 – 40 years. Buccolingual, mesio-distal and cervicoincisal diameters of canines and inter-canine width were measured by Dentistry Sliding Vernier Caliper and analyzed with SPSS 28.0. Maxillary and mandibular canine indices were calculated. Results. Mesio-distal and cervicoincisal dimensions of upper canines, inter-canine width and mandibular canine index exhibited statistically significant differences with a high degree of significance between males and females in contrast with the maxillary canine index of Bulgarian males and females, which revealed no statistically significant differences. Conclusion. In accordance with similar odontometric studies, canines, inter-canine width, and mandibular canine index may differentiate both sexes successfully, and thus they can be reliable predictors in forensic identification.