Analysis of palatal rugae in young persons to two colombian ethnic groups

Conclusiones: De acuerdo a la frecuencia, forma y disposicion las rugas palatinas principales y derivadas no evidencian dimorfismo sexual y simetria bilateral. Las rugas palatinas recta, sinuosa y curva son las formas de mayor frecuencia tanto para las rugas principales como para las derivadas. No se observo ninguna formula palatoscopica igual, lo cual le confiere a las rugas palatinas el caracter de “unicas” e “irrepetibles”, condiciones que le permiten ser empleadas en los procesos de identifi cacion forense. Palabras clave: Ciencias forenses, odontologia forense, identificacion Odontologica, rugas palatinas, rugoscopia. SUMMARY Aim: This study analyzes the frequency of palatal rugae on young scholars of two Colombian populations. Besides determines the variability, the sexual dimorphism and the bilateral symmetry of the palatal rugae. Materials y methods: A descriptive study analyzes palatal rugae through Trobo’s method in 208 dental casts chosen by convenience, 112 of Cali racially mixed population (46 females and 66 males) with ages between the 10 and 18 years old; and 96 of Colombian Amazons natives (53 females and 43 males) with ages between the 5 and 12 years old. Results: The line, wavy and curve palatal rugae features showed high frequency in both sexes and in ethnic groups. The forms angle and circle showed low frequency. Sexual dimorph and bilateral symmetry were not evidenced. Differences between the distribution of the primary and derivatives palatal rugae according to the ethnic group were also not evident. Conclusions: According to the frequency, shape and disposition of primary and derived palatal rugae, they do not evidence sexual dimorphism and bilateral symmetry. Line, sinuous and curve were the most frequent shapes, for primary and derived rugae. There were no identical rugograms between subjects, which conferes to the rugae the characteristic of unique, then rugae can be useful in forensic identification.