Background: Identification of an individual is a challenging task in the field of forensic odontology. Sometimes, the identity of individuals by fingerprints is difficult; hence, the examination of palatal rugae and the human dentition is a viable option.
Aims and objectives: The objective of the present study was to determine the sex of an individual and the hereditary pattern using three parameters are as follows: palatine rugae, dimensions of maxillary molar and maxillary canine.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study involved a total of 200 participants which included 60 males, 60 females and 20 families with four members each. Maxillary impressions were made with elastomeric impression material, and dental stone was used to make the models. The parameters used were as follows: palatine rugae classified by Thomas and Kotze (1983), which included the shape, size, direction and unification pattern, mesiodistal (MD) width of canines and intercanine width and MD and buccolingual width of maxillary molars.
Statistical analysis: Unpaired t-test and the median test were used to assess the sex differences in the number and unification pattern for the palatal rugae and to compare dimensions measured for males and females for the odontometric data. The data collected was statistically analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 17.0 statistical program for windows. The statistical significance was fixed at 0.05.
Results: Males showed more number of converging rugae and females showed more number of diverging patterns of rugae. The number of primary and forward rugae was more in both the genders and females showed more wavy rugae while males showed more number of straight and curved rugae. The maxillary canine and maxillary molar dimensions both were more in males than the females and also none of these parameters showed a hereditary pattern.
Conclusion: Rugae pattern and the human dentition are both highly individualistic and can be used for personal identification and sex determination.
Keywords: Family; forensic odontology; human identification; odontometry; rugoscopy; sex determination.