A Validation Study of the Mandibular Canine Index Method of Sexual Assessment Using Two Decedent American Populations

Abstract

Rao and colleagues created the Mandibular Canine Index (MCI) as a method of sex assessment. It has primarily been used on living South Asian populations. This study applies the Index to two decedent American populations in hopes that it will applicable to the field of Forensic Anthropology. Forty-five individuals from the C.A. Pound Human Identification Lab and the Wichita State Biological Anthropology Lab with full mandibular dentition were studied. The mesio-distal width of both right and left canines and the canine arch width were taken and the MCI calculated along with the standard MCI. Results show that the MCI is not statistically significant in determining males from females (p=.461 for right and p=.473 for left).  The standard MCI was .242 for the right and .246 for the left. This gave an accuracy of 37% to 44% for males and 44% to 45% for females. The mesio-distal length (p = .002 for right and .001 for left) and canine arch width (p=.019) on their own were statistically significant and can be used in sex assessment if the teeth are present although they should be used with other methods.  Further study should be done with a larger sample size to see if results are consistent.