Palatal Rugae as an Evidence for Forensic Age Assessment

Abstract

Introduction: Palatal rugae are individual features which are important for personal identification. Present study determines the rugae characteristics and their age-related changes in both sexes. Material and Methods: Palatal rugae status (number, length, thickness, shape, direction, unification) of 323 subjects (180 females/143 males) within the age range of 20-79 years were recorded from their dental casts, divided into four sectors on the right and left sides of the palate and statistically analysed. Results: The results reveal that there were no statistically significant differences for rugae number distribution due to the sex and right/left sides of the palate (p-value> 0.05 for both analysis). The frequencies of rugae with regard to shape, direction and unification characteristics revealed statistically significant differences (p-value< 0.05). When means were compared within age groups; number, length and thickness of rugae showed statistically significant differences in relation with age (p-value< 0.05). Conclusion: Age can be assessed by examining the palatal rugae, as its number decreases, length shortens, thickness gets thinner by ageing (p-value< 0.05). Therefore, rugae can be accepted as complementary evidence for forensic odontologists especially for age assessment of edentulous cases. © 2022, Punjab Academy of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology. All rights reserved.