Examining Gender-related Differences in Lip Prints, Fingerprints and Palatal Rugae Patterns Amongst the Indian Population: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: One of the most important aspects in forensic sciences is based on establishing the identity of individuals on the basis of human unique anatomic features. This is crucial for a host of civil matters, from proving insurance claims to a bedrock of criminal justice, notably in such far from rare cases as murder trials. Apart from the living, posthumous determination of identity is important for legal, operational disaster finding of disaster victims and bereavement. As forensic dentistry continues to progress, the range of techniques to identify positively has increased a lot; hence, it has become important to determine its usefulness under various circumstances. Materials and Methods: To compare the consistency level of these identification marks, we included 684 participants in the age group of 18–25 years at Aditya Dental College and Hospital. From all participants’ lip prints, fingerprints, palatal rugae pattern and dental arch form were recorded. These pooled patterns were statistically analysed by the use of IB. A statistical analysis was then performed to relate these patterns to gender, with operations (at a 95% confidence level) only considered to be significant if P < 0.05. Results: The study found no significant association between rugae patterns, arch forms or fingertips with gender, except lip print patterns. Curiously, another important relationship was evident between the lip print patterns and different fingerprint patterns. Conclusion: The study concludes that a correlation can be demonstrated between the patterns of fingerprint and lip print.