Age and gender correlation of gonial angle, ramus height and bigonial width in dentate subjects in a dental school in Far North Queensland

BACKGROUND This study aimed to determine if mandibular parameters (gonial angle, bigonial width and ramus height) measured from panoramic radiographs, can be used to determine a correlation with an individual's age and gender in dentate subjects in Far North Queensland. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study utilised 2699 randomly selected panoramic radiographs of patients between the ages of 19-69 years, from which 220 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Each panoramic radiograph was analysed and the above three parameters recorded and measured. These values were collated into appropriate age and gender groups and subjected to statistical analysis. RESULTS The mean age of the participants was 44.1±14.41, with males being shown to have a statistically significant larger ramus height and bigonial width than females (P<0.0001 for both). Females, on the other hand, were shown to have a significantly larger gonial angle than males (P<0.0002). General trends revealed gonial angle to increase with age, whilst bigonial width and ramus height were shown to decrease with age. CONCLUSIONS The assessment of mandibular morphology through radiographic measurements may be useful in estimating an individual's age and gender when comparing to a known population standard. KEY WORDS Bigonial width, gonial angle, panoramic radiograph, ramus height.