Cheiloscopy and Rugoscopy: A Scientific Approach for Sex Determination.

Abstract

Introduction: The major areas of forensic dentistry include determining a patient's gender, age, race, and size as well as gathering dental evidence and reconstructing a patient's face over skeletal remains. Lip prints are said to be unique to a person and similar to fingerprints. The palatal rugae pattern has been regarded as one of the pertinent indicators for human identification in the field of forensic medicine because of its stability and uniqueness. 

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of palatal rugae pattern and lip prints for gender distinction and human identification. The objectives of the study were to distinguish between male and female lip prints and palatal rugae based on gender.

Methods: Subjects were randomly chosen from the OPD and an informed consent was obtained. Study was performed on 136 subjects equally divided into two groups according to gender. For rugoscopy all the dental casts were collected, duplicated and later analyzed.  The legal age of the subject was confirmed using the case history proforma of the patients submitted along with the casts. The relevant demographic data including name, age, sex, address as well as findings from clinical examination were recorded for each selected individual in a specially designed Proforma.

Results: Considering both the  lips, type V pattern was most predominant pattern in males followed by type III while type I pattern was most predominant pattern in females followed by type I. Predominant shape of rugae in females is wavy followed by curved and straight and in males is curved followed by wavy, straight and unification.

Conclusions: Both cheiloscopy and rugoscopy have the potential to identify an individual also lip prints are more reliable in identifying the sex of an individual as compared to palatal rugae patterns.