Enamel thickness of human mandibular canine: A radiographic study

Abstract

Enamel thickness of posterior mandibular dentition has been widely studied to explore the role of masticatory load in determining enamel pattern. Mesial-distal enamel pattern variation in posterior teeth is either a reflection of increasing magnitude of bite forces posteriorly or a developmental phenomenon. Earlier, the thickness of enamel was also a subject of interest in sexual dimorphism where few studies showed more enamel  in females than males. However, research diverted to the importance of dentin in determining sexual dimorphism and its relation to the bite forces, with males showing greater dentin resulting in bigger teeth in them. This study had two objectives, one to examine the pattern of enamel thickness of anterior dentition (mandibular canines) and second to examine the sexual dimorphism in enamel proportion of canines. Crown width, mesial & distal enamel thickness, enamel cap area & tooth area were measured on periapical radiographs of mandibular canines of 85 subjects (44 females & 41 males) of Asian ethnicity using ImageJ. Mesial-distal enamel thickness was statistically analyzed by mixed factorial ANOVA and sexual dimorphism was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Enamel was significantly thicker on the distal than the mesial margins of human mandibular canines similar to the posterior dentition pattern. Sexual dimorphism was observed in enamel cap area as well mesial & distal enamel thickness with females showing more relative proportion of enamel than males.