Many tooth morphologic studies on sexual dimorphism and tooth differentiation were performed but maxillary premolar focused reports were not abundant. Furthermore, population-specific data is required for forensic odontology and anthropology but morphometric data of maxillary premolars in Koreans is rare. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate crown size and morphologic characteristics of occlusal surface of maxillary first and second premolars among
adult Koreans and to check whether there are any diiTcrences between both sexes and between maxillary first and second premolars.Data were obtained from 183 dental casts of’ adult Korean (110 males and 73 females). Intercuspal distance (ID). Mesiodistal crown diameter (MD), Buccolingual crown diameter (BL). Buccal cusp area (BC area), Lingual cusp area (LC area), Crown area. Terra's tubercle, Mesial marginal groove (M.M.Groove) and Maxillary premolar accessory iidges (MxPAR) were measured using digital image analysis system. Paired t-test. independent t-test and Pearson's correlation test were performed to analyze differences, tendencies and correlations using SPSS program.
Generally, maxillary first premolars were bigger than second premolars with significant differences. This is because second premolars have greater spatial restrictions than first premolars when space is needed for development. In terms of gender difference, most crown diameters and areas measured in maxillary premolars were greater in male than in female but BC area, BC rate and LC rate showed stable sexual dimorphism with significant difference in all three groups consistently. Hence, it is recommended that several tooth variables should be used together when sex assessment are performed.
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