Study of Lip Print Patterns Distribution and Their Stability in Time Pass

Mahkameh Moshfeghi; Parastoo Iranparvar; Hamed  Mortazavi; Navid Nasrabadi

doi:10.18502/jimc.v7i1.14222

Mahkameh Moshfeghi Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Parastoo Iranparvar Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Hamed Mortazavi Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Navid Nasrabadi Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jimc.v7i1.14222

Keywords: Forensic dentistry, Lip, Students

Abstract

to assess the distribution of lip print patterns and their stability during the time.

Methods: Lip prints were obtained from 133 dental students and the distribution of patterns was evaluated, using the Five-stage Suzuki and Tsuchuhashi’s classification. Six months later, lip prints were obtained again from 40 out of 133 students who were chosen accidentally to assess the stability. The individual lip formula was determined by Paired T-test and ANOVA at p<0.05.

Results: Type I was the most common pattern in the lips. Lip formulas were found to be unique for each individual. No significant difference existed in the distribution of lip print patterns between males and females, or between the upper and lower lips. In terms of stability, 73.8% of lip print patterns remained unchanged during a 6-month period.

Conclusion: Lip print patterns are unique to each individual and have medium stability over time. Therefore, cheiloscopy may be considered a useful identification tool in forensic dentistry. However, the lip print pattern cannot indicate the sex of people.