Geometric morphometric analysis of maxillary molar sexual dimorphism: A cross-sectional study

Srikant Natarajan, Junaid Ahmed, Shravan Shetty, Nidhin Philip Jose, Sharada Chowdappa and Sunitha Carnelio

PLOS ONE, 2026, vol. 21, issue 8, 1-16

Abstract: Objective: The sexual dimorphism of permanent maxillary molars has been extensively documented through metric and subjective shape analysis. The aim of this study was to evaluate sexual dimorphism in the shape of permanent maxillary first (UM1) and second molars (UM2) using geometric morphometric analysis. Methods: This cross-sectional study analysed digitized dental casts from 60 males and 60 females. The casts were scanned using a laser surface scanner, and 28 three-dimensional landmarks, defined based on anatomical and geometric landmarks, were marked using SlicerMorph software. The shape data was then analysed using Procrustes superimposition, principal components analysis, regression, and discriminant function analysis to test the shape changes, allometry, and differences between the sexes. Results: Centroid size did not differ significantly between sexes for UM1 and UM2 (p > 0.05). Shape differences were not significant in UM1 (p = 0.15) but were significant in UM2 (p = 0.01). Allometry was observed in both molars, with a greater contribution in UM2 (6.96%) compared to UM1 (2.39%) (p

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0355612

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0355612

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