Comparison of palatal rugae patterns in Kodava and Malayalee populations of South India

INTRODUCTION: The palatal rugae pattern is unique to humans and may be specific to ethnic groups hence useful in population identification in forensic dentistry. The present study has been carried out to analyze the rugae pattern in two populations in and around Coorg, with objectives to analyze the palatal rugae pattern among Kodavas and Malayalees and to analyze the rugae pattern between sexes within each group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample comprised two population groups in Coorg namely Kodavas and Malayalees, (n = 30) from each group, age-range of 18-30 years, equally distributed between the sexes. The rugae pattern were categorized as ‘straight,’ ‘wavy,’ ‘curved’ ‘circular’, and ‘unification’. Pairwise comparison for two populations was done using non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Mann-Whitney two-tailed test was used to test the difference between sexes. RESULTS: Wavy pattern (100%) was highest among Kodavas. There was a significant difference between Malayalees and Kodavas for wavy (Mean = 5.867 and 8.400) and unification patterns (Mean = 2.267and 1.000). Significant difference between sexes for straight rugae pattern (Mean, males = 2.267, females = 1.200) among Malayalees was seen. CONCLUSION: The differences in rugae shape between the two populations (wavy and unification patterns) may be attributed to genetic factors and recent shared ancestry has probably rendered their differences to moderate levels.