A Study of Palatal Rugae Pattern in Gender Identification

Background Human identification in postmortem scenarios, whether through dental records or other means, remains one of the most challenging tasks in forensic science. Palatoscopy serves as a valuable tool for establishing person's identity. Palatal rugae; possess unique patterns, exhibit stability and demonstrate individuality as well as sexual dimorphism. Objective To investigate the potential of using palatal rugae pattern as an aid in sex identification. Method This cross sectional study was conducted between August to December 2024 among the patient aged 18 to 40 years visiting department of Prosthodontics, Dhulikhel Hospital. Black marker pen was used to delineate the outline of rugae in maxillary cast obtained from alginate impression. The length of rugae was measured with the help of digital vernier caliper and brass wire. Independent sample T-test and Mann Whitney U tests were used to compare the rugae between genders. Result In the present study, a total of 1,050 palatal rugae were traced. Males were found to have a statistically significantly higher number of rugae on left side compared to females (p-value = 0.03). Diverging rugae in males were most predominant type of unification (p-value = 0.018), whereas straight rugae were significantly more common in females than in males (p-value = 0.026). No statistically significant difference was observed in length of palatal rugae between genders. Conclusion The study found that no two individuals shared identical palatal rugae patterns. Palatal rugae may serve as a useful tool for gender identification and can be recommended for forensic applications.