Morphometric and volumetric analysis of the frontal sinus in a Brazilian population using Cone beam Computed Tomography: a forensic approach for sex, age and facial morphology estimation

The aim of this study was to evaluate the linear and volumetric measurements of the frontal sinus (FS), using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans, for a discriminatory analysis of gender, age and facial skeletal pattern in a Brazilian population. A total of 300 CBCT scans were analyzed, measuring the height, width, length and volume of the FS. The measurements were divided into groups: sex, age (<20 to >40 years and >40 years) and facial skeletal pattern classes I, II and III. The function values in the centroid group were 0.675 for male and -0.292 for female. A rule was established indicating that if the value of D is greater than 0.19, the sample will be classified as male. The results showed a significant difference in women, who had significantly lower volume, width and depth than men (p-value<0.001, 0.003 and <0.001 respectively). No significant differences could be observed between the age and facial skeletal pattern groups. The results suggest that the FS measures of volume, height, width and depth have moderate discriminatory power for predicting gender in a Brazilian population. In conclusion, the results show that the FS has potential for determining gender, but the accuracy of the method and its applicability for analyzing age and facial skeletal pattern were limited in our population.