Analysis of Palatal Rugae Pattern between Male and Female Population in Bangladesh: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Aim: The study aims to evaluate the palatal rugae patterns in Bangladeshi males and females and to examine the differences in the rugae pattern between males and females within each group. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 males and 50 females whose palatal impression models were obtained. The rugae patterns were observed by using the magnifying glass. Evaluation and assessment of the rugae count were performed between the left and right horizons in both male and female individuals. The shape and placement of rugae were also observed in both populations. The data were recorded and tabulated. The Student’s t-test and Chi-squared test were used for statistical analysis through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) V21. Results: The results showed a significance on the right side rather than on the left side number of rugae between males and females. The shape of the rugae pattern was found insignificant. The variation in the form of rugae and the comparison between male and females study participants were observed as insignificant. Conclusion: The study found a distinctive pattern in the population, with a statistically significant difference in the rugae on the right side of the palate between men and women. Curved rugae were more common in women than in men. However, an insignificant difference in gender was observed. Therefore, this result suggests that identifying the population using rugae patterns became difficult since similar patterns were observed in the distinct population. Clinical significance: Palatal rugae is a unique anatomical structure having significant forensic, anthropological, and as well as clinical aspects. No quantitative significance was found among genders. Significance showed only based on rugae patterns.