Assessment of Gonial Angle as A Determinant of Age, Gender and Nationality

Background:-The mandible is the most significant, strongest, and most resilient bone in the facial skeleton, exhibiting sexual dimorphism. It experiences morphological changes as a result of losing teeth, which are manifested as an enlargement of the mandibular angle, frequently referred to as the gonial angle. The gonial angle is formed by the junction of the lower and posterior margins of the individual's lower jaw. Another name for it is the mandibular angle. This observational cross-sectional study aims to determine if the gonial angle is a reliable determinant for patient’s age, gender and nationality. Methods:-The panoramic radiographs were collected from the database of the dental teaching hospital at Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) in Makkah. Inclusion criteria were patients with permanent dentition stage, panoramic radiographs with high quality and clarity, and all panoramic radio-graphs needed to be taken with the same machine setting. All panoramic radiographs with documented history of facial trauma, prior facial or mandibular surgery, congenital diseases affecting the face or jaw, and facial asymmetry were excluded. Results:-Out of 1503 panoramic radiographs, 426 (28%) are included in the study's analysis. The mean age of the included population was 32.27. The majority of the sample was male (n=216, 50.7%). Most of the panoramic radiograph was related to Saudi population (n=273, 55.6%) and the non-Saudi population (n=153, 44.4%). The mean of the right GA measure was 122.77, compared to 123.68 on the left side. Statistical analyses showed that there was significant association between GA readings and age, but not with the gender and nationality. Conclusion:-Based on results of the present study, there is an association between the GA measures and age, while no association is found between GA measures and gender and nationality.