MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE PALATAL RUGAE INDIVIDUALITY OF SAUDI POPULATION

Purpose: The present study was aimed to to determine different biometric characteristic of the palatine rugae in a group of Saudi population, to predict the sex on the basis of palatine rugae, and to determine the common pattern of palatine rugae in males and females in this group of population, which may be an additional method of identification in cases of crimes or aircraft accidents. Materials and Methods: A total of 180 dental casts, fully maxillary toothed, without considering the third molar were selected for the study including 88 of males and 92 of females. Considering the lack of consensus on rugae stability with respect to aging, the study casts were derived of the individuals within a narrow age-range (16-22 years). The information obtained was recorded in a rugoscopy record or rugograma, including: shape, number, length, direction and unification of the palatal rugae and using the SPSS 15.0 statistical descriptors were identified for each of these parameters. Results: In the present study, the most commonly noticed palatal rugae were the wavy and sinouos, representing almost 90% of the total population. The predominant direction of the rugae was found to be forward (92) relative to backward direction (64). The total number of palatal rugae accounted in the total sample was 1270, this value is slightly higher in the palates of male (670) than female (600). Conclusions: In this study, the morphological characteristics of the palatal rugae have been studied in Saudi population. Statistically significant differences between the males and females were observed in number, shape and unification of the rugae. Recommendations: The interpretations derived from this study are precluded by limited sample size which definitely invites the more extensive and detailed study in more logical manner with emphasis for larger or elaborate sample size to further validate our findings.