Cheiloscopy in gender determination: A study on 2112 individuals

BACKGROUND: Lip prints are seen to remain the same for an individual throughout his/her life. Cheiloscopy can be used as an effective tool in the identification of the persons from pieces of evidence that may be left behind from lip prints. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of the current research was to evaluate the predominant lip groove pattern among Calicut population, Kerala. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved 2112 individuals (1056 males and 1056 females) in the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, KMCT Dental College, Calicut, Kerala. Lipstick was used to record the lip groove patterns and the patterns were visualized by magnifying lens after the institutional ethical clearance and informed consent from the individual. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software 22.0. RESULTS: Among the study population, Type 1', Type 1, Type 4, and Type 5 were found to be common lip groove patterns. Males showed predominance on Type 1' and Type 1 lip groove patterns, whereas females showed predominance on Type 4 and Type 5 lip groove patterns. The results were similar when analyzed on upper and lower lips separately on males and females. CONCLUSION: Cheiloscopy is a reliable tool in personal identification and gender determination of an individual. The geographical prevalence of lip groove patterns was reported in the current research and is added to the database of the anthropological data. Studies in different geographical regions will add lip groove patterns on the database in the future and henceforth the potential of cheiloscopy could be further utilized.