DENTAL DIMORPHISMAN AID IN FORENSIC IDENTIFICATION

Personal identification for forensic purposes demand maximum possible accuracy especially in mass disasters that may be timely performed in order to avoid loss of evidence and provide relief to traumatized families of individuals concerned. Sex identification is a prerequisite for personal identification. Dimorphism comes from the etymology dimorphos‚ (Latin) and by definition means occurring in two different forms. Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference between individuals of different sexes in th e same species. Teeth form a reliable material in living and non -living populations for anthropological, genetic, odontologic and forensic investigations due to their physical and chemical characteristics which make them highly resistant to post-mortem insult. The aim of this study was to investigate the sexual dimorphism in the buccolingual (BL) and mesiodistal (MD) dimensions of all permanent teeth except third molars in individuals within the age range of 17-25 years.