Ethnic and gender comparison of rugae patterns among clinical dental trainees in Ibadan, Nigeria

INTRODUCTION: This study was conducted to compare the rugae patterns between two major ethnic groups in Nigeria to establish any peculiarities. This will serve as basis for population identification especially in mass disasters involving individuals of different races or ethnicities. METHODS: One hundred consenting participants, 50 of south-western Yoruba ethnicity and 50 of south-eastern Igbo ethnicity were recruited; impressions of the upper jaws were taken and cast with dental stone. Two blinded investigators then delineated and recorded the rugae pattern of individual casts. The rugae patterns for the two groups were then analysed using the SPSS version 16. RESULTS: The Yoruba's had more of wavy and straight patterns while there were more of curve and circular among the Ibo's, however, there was no significant differences between the two groups in the mean incidence of the various rugae shapes of wavy, circular, curve and straight (p = 0.843, p = 0.711, p = 0.309 and p = 0.292 respectively). There were more secondary rugae in the Igbo than the Yoruba group and the differences in the mean incidences were significant. CONCLUSION: The study observed several rugae similarities and no significant differences in the primary rugae shapes of the Igbos and Yoruba ethnicities, however, there were significant differences in the sum of secondary and unclassified rugae between the two groups; therefore, rugoscopy may be useful in ethnic differentiation.