STUDY OF THE SIZE OF THE ANGLE OF THE MANDIBLE

Тhe mandible is a paired bone that develops within the mandibular arch, embedding teeth and forming anarticulation of the jaw with the cranium. Morphological changes are brought about by aging. The gonial angle, orthe angle of mandible, is formed by the line tangent to thelower border of the mandible and the line tangent to the distal border of the ascending ramus and condyle ie the lower jaw angle is formed by the ramus line (RL) and the mandibular line (ML), where RL is the tangent to the posterior border of the mandible and ML is the lower border of the mandible through the gnathion (gn) Withage the masticatory muscles change in function and structure with decreased contractile activity and lower muscle density. The gonial angle can be used as a tool inforensic odontology, but has received less attention. The aim of this study was to evaluate the angle of mandible comparing mandibular bones and OPGs. The study further intends to evaluate the variation in age using the gonialangle as a parameter. A total of 50 mandibles and 50 OPGs were included in the study. The study materials were obtained from theDepartment of Anatomy and the Department of Radiology of Simple methodology was employed for obtaining data. The gonial angle in mandibular bones was measured as the angle formed by the base of the mandible and the posterior border of the ramus by the scale of protractor, which isplaced over the angle of mandible in such a way that the base of the protractor coincides with the base of the mandible. The angle was recorded in degrees.The gonial angle in OPG was measured by a line drawn tangential to the lower border of the mandible and the linedrawn tangential to the posterior border of the ramus and the condyle. The intersection of these two lines formed the gonial angle which was measured using a protractor in the same way. The angle was recorded in degrees.All the readings were recorded and the mean value was calculated.The present study shows various values of gonial angle inOPG and mandibular bones. No significant difference was observed between these two. On comparison of gonial angle the mandibular bone showed slightly greater value than OPG The mean value of the gonial angles were found to beslightly more in mandibular bones and were lesser in OPG.There seems to be differencein the gonial angle with different age groups but not significant. Both mandibular bones and OPGs showed almost similar readings. Thusgonial angle serves as an adjuvant and additional forensic parameter which guides for age group assessment, subjectto odontological status.