Maxillary first premolar shape (and not size) as an indicator of sexual dimorphism: A 2D geomorphometric study

Introduction The primary aim of the study is to evaluate the morphological form of the maxillary first premolar using 2D geomorphometry and evaluate the sexually dimorphic characteristics. Methods The present study was carried out on  standardized photographs of right Maxillary first premolar from 55 dental casts (33 male and 22 females). Nineteen landmarks (based on geometric and anatomic evidence) were marked on the tooth using TPSdig software and analysed using Morpho J applying procrustes analysis and discriminant function analysis Results The results showed similar centroid sizes between gender (p = 0.606). Procrustes ANOVA for shape analysis showed a greater dimorphism between sexs (f value of 1.4 ; p value=0.0624).  Discriminant function analysis based on the procrustes coordinates showed an overall accuracy of 90.91 % in classifying sex based on the landmark coordinates with correct classification of  20/22 (90.99%) females and 30/33 (90.91) males. Conclusion Shape of the tooth can be measured objectively using geometric morphometric methods which ca