Forensic Dentistry III: Palatal Rugae and Lip Prints in Forensic Identification

Gabriel M. Fonseca; Mario Cantín & Joaquín Lucena

Summary

Even though there exist more or less frequent methods of human identification in use, all of them are supported in the unequivocal, scientific and reliable comparison of known information with the obtained one of the remains or of the prints to processing. Between these methods, and from a dental forensic point of view, the lip prints, the palatal rugae, and their negatives or prints have been admitted as morphologic patterns, which would allow identifying a person in specific circumstances. These elements have been studied comparatively as well as independently trying to detect individual and demographical characteristics that allow to reinforce them as significant tools: it was informed that the Cheiloscopy (the study of the lip prints) as well as the Rugoscopy (the study of palatal rugae) both define unique traits for every individual; therefore, they are useful reasonably for a forensic identification.Since the forensic case reports may help to identify changes in criminal behaviours, in the morphologic typical patterns or in the way of presenting the expert evidence, a review of case reports with utilization of rugoscopical and cheiloscopical evidence is presented, and their projections toward the scientific forensic community are discussed.

KEY WORDS: forensic dentistry, rugoscopy, cheiloscopy, case reports.

How to cite this article

FONSECA, G. M.; CANTÍN, M. & LUCENA, J. Forensic Dentistry III: Palatal rugae and lip prints in forensic identification. Int. J. Odontostomat., 8(1):29-40, 2014.