# Digital intraoral scans of upper teeth used to estimate sex and stature in 320 adults from North Maharashtra

- Published: 2026-11-13 21:15 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: forensic odontology, odontometric analysis, intraoral scanner, 3D dental measurement, sex classification from teeth, stature estimation, maxillary intercanine width, sexual dimorphism, North Maharashtra, logistic regression ROC
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-b29d6d44fdb26464546e0f0a_digital_intraoral_scans/

**In a cross-sectional study of 160 men and 160 women, maxillary tooth measurements separated sexes with moderate accuracy and explained 44% of stature variance in the test set.**

![Digital intraoral scans of upper teeth used to estimate sex and stature in 320 adults from North Maharashtra](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/ebf4674dd0a9aa1a.jpg)
*U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexandra Dale, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain*

Researchers tested whether three-dimensional measurements taken from intraoral scans of teeth can help estimate sex and stature in adults from North Maharashtra, India. The cross-sectional study, published in the Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences, included 320 healthy adults (160 men and 160 women, mean age 23.2 ± 3.03 years) selected by stratified random sampling [1]. According to the authors, generalized standards may introduce systematic bias in heterogeneous populations such as India, which creates a need for region-specific models [1].

## Measurements and sample

Participants had to have fully erupted, caries-free, unrestored permanent canines and first molars. Stature was measured with a standardized stadiometer. Digital impressions were obtained with an intraoral scanner (a TRIOS 3, as described in the publication's coverage), and the scans were measured in three-dimensional software [1].

The team measured maxillary and mandibular intercanine width, canine mesiodistal and buccolingual widths, and the cumulative mesiodistal width of six anterior teeth [1]. Sex differences were assessed with t-tests or Mann–Whitney U tests. Stature was analyzed with Spearman's correlation and multiple linear regression, and sex classification with binary logistic regression and ROC analysis [1].

## Results for sex and stature

Significant sexual dimorphism appeared only in the maxillary parameters. Males had larger intercanine width (p = 0.003), canine mesiodistal width (p = 0.001), canine buccolingual width (p = 0.049) and cumulative anterior mesiodistal width (p = 0.010). Mandibular parameters did not differ significantly [1].

Stature correlated positively with maxillary intercanine width (r = 0.26, p = 0.001), maxillary canine mesiodistal width (r = 0.22, p = 0.005) and cumulative anterior width (r = 0.13, p = 0.012) [1]. Linear regression indicated a 0.79 cm increase in stature per 1 mm increase in maxillary intercanine width (p = 0.002). The final model explained 44% of stature variance in the testing dataset [1].

Logistic regression showed moderate discriminatory performance for sex classification, with AUC = 0.841 on the training data and 0.782 on the testing data [1]. The authors conclude that the population-specific models may serve as supportive tools for forensic identification when dental remains are available, and that three-dimensional digital measurement improves reproducibility [1].

## Sources

1. [Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences](https://doi.org/10.1186/s41935-026-00543-8)
2. [bioengineer.org](https://bioengineer.org/digital-maxillary-tooth-measurements-aid-sex-and-stature-estimation-in-north-maharashtra)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-b29d6d44fdb26464546e0f0a_digital_intraoral_scans/