Length of the ramus of the mandible as an indicator of chronological age and sex: A study in a group of Egyptians

Background The determination of age and sex is crucial for establishing a human identity. The mandible is an accessible and a durable bone that would be very useful in this respect. Aim To test if the length of the ramus of the mandible can be used to predict the age and the sex in a group of Egyptians Subjects and methods The length of the ramus of the mandible was measured in lateral craniofacial scans of 213 individuals (99 males and 114 females) with an age range of 7–58 years using cone-beam computerized tomography (CBCT). Results Sexual dimorphism was not observed until the age of 17 years in this sample of population. There was not found any significant differences in the length of the ramus of the mandible between males and females in the age range of 7 to less than 17 years (P-value = 0.2495). There was found a significant difference between males and females for the mean length of the mandible ramus in the age range of 17–58 years (P-value < 0.0000). It predicts sex with an accuracy of 67 %. There was a positive correlation between ln(age) and ln(ramus) (r = 0.73, P-value < 0.0001 for females and r = 0.85, P-value <0.0001 for males). Conclusion The mandibular ramus length is valuable in age estimation and less valuable in sex determination. Computerized tomography examination is a safe and an accurate procedure with minimal radiation exposure, and provides valuable precise information regarding mandible measurements.