The aim of this study was to analyze the sexual dimorphism in the mandibles of Jordanians and derive a population specific equation for sex prediction. The employed sample comprised 270 cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of Jordanians (147 males and 123 females) aged 27-55 years. The images were rendered to 3D surface models, using customized software that provided various views for each mandible, on which measurements made of nine parameters (ramus height, right and left coronoids height, mandibular length, gonial angle, Intergonial breadth, Intercondylar breadth, mental and mandibular foramena) for the analysis of sex identification. The collected data sets were treated statistically using the Statistical Package SPSS version-21. Canonical discriminant function analysis was used to specify a parameter or combination of parameters that best separate the two sexes. Stepwise analysis together with leave-one-out classification procedure was applied (utilizing the Wilks lambda method), which identified six parameters that formed the best combination most precisely predicting sex. It also identified the predictors’ coefficients from which a predictive equation for the Jordanian population was derived. The discriminant function group centroid discriminant scores for males and females and the sectioning cut-score were also defined. According to the equation, the function score for any set of measurements that is above the cut score is probably for a male individual whereas a score that was below the cut score is probably for a female subject.
KEY WORDS: Sexual dimorphism; Sectioning cut-score; Jordanian population; Morphological traits.
