Role of Palatal Rugoscopy to Establish Sexual Dimorphism as an Adjunct In Personal Identification: A Forensic Study

Objectives: The forensic discipline is concerned with the application of science and technology to the detection and investigation of crime and the administration of justice, requiring the coordinated efforts of a multidisciplinary team. Human identification is one of the most challenging tasks in this process. However, when a victim is edentulous, methods for personal identification available in forensic odontology are much more limited than in the case of dentate victims. In such cases, additional/supplemental aids like palatal rugoscopy hold promise. Materials and Methods: Two hundred subjects were included in the study, they were divided into 4 groups, each of the four groups included 50 participants, consisting of 25 males and 25 females. Maxillary impression was made for all the included subjects and casts were poured and analysed. Results: A total of 2104 palatal rugae were observed in 200 subjects. When types of rugae based on length were compared between males and females on each side of the palate, primary type, secondary type and fragmentary type were observed in a mean number of 4.19, 0.78 & 0.18 in males and 4.20, 0.81 and 0.16 in females respectively on the right side. Whereas on the left side, primary type, secondary type and fragmentary type were found in a mean number of 4.59, 0.83 & 0.09 in males and 4.40, 0.78 & 0.07 in females respectively. Conclusion: It may be concluded that the rugae pattern may be an additional method of differentiation, which may help narrow the process for identification and give results in conjunction with other methods such as finger prints and dental characteristics in forensic sciences. Palatal rugoscopy may thus be used successfully as an adjunct in the process of forensic identification.