Dermatoglyphic assessment in subjects with different dental arch forms: an appraisal

Successful rehabilitation of edentulous individuals involves selection and arrangement of artificial teeth in accordance with the patient's original arch form. Various criteria exist for harmonious tooth arrangement but none is accepted universally. Finger and palm prints are unique to an individual and once formed in the sixth week of intra-uterine life, remain constant thereafter. Since dental arches are also formed during the same prenatal period, it is believed that the similar genetic factors may be involved in formation of dental arches and dermal patterns. This study was conducted to identify the association if any between type of dental arch forms and type of dermatoglyphic patterns. If specific dermal characteristics exist in individuals with specific dental arch forms, dermatoglyphic assessment of long standing edentulous subjects may help identify the patients preexisting dental arch form and thus aid in proper tooth arrangement. Ninety dentulous subjects were categorized into three groups on the basis of dental arch form (square, tapering or ovoid) and their finger and palm prints were recorded. The type of fingertip patterns, distribution of palmar patterns, Total Finger Ridge Count and angle atd were assessed. Subjects with square arches demonstrated a significantly high frequency of loops and a large atd angle with palmar patterns being most frequent in I3 region. Subjects with tapering arches showed a high frequency of whorls, a small atd angle and greatest distribution of palmar patterns in I4 region. In ovoid arched subjects, loops were the most common and palmar patterns were mostly observed in I4. Since distinctive dermal patterns were observed in subjects with different dental arch forms, it is believed that dermatoglyphics may be used as a reliable tool for identifying original arch form in edentulous patients.