Kinra Et Al-2014-Universal Research Journal of Dentistry

Universal Research Journal of Dentistry · January-April 2014 · Vol 4 · Issue 148

INTRODUCTION

Fingerprints, postmortem reports, and DNA fingerprinting have been used successfully for personal identification in the field of forensic science. Lip prints can be helpful in positive identification of a person and can be used to verify the presence or absence of a person at the crime scene.[1] The wrinkles and grooves on labial mucosa, called sulci labiorum, form a characteristic pattern known as lip prints. The study of lip prints is referred to as cheiloscopy. Similar to fingerprints, lip print is also unique to an individual.[2]

In 1902, R. Fischer described the system of furrows on the redpartofhumanlips.In1932,E.Locard,oneofFrance’sgreatest criminologists, recommended the use of lip prints in personal identification and criminalization. In 1950, Synder[3] mentioned in his TextbookofHomicideInvestigation that the lip grooves are individually distinct as finger prints. In 1967, Suzuki investigated the measurement of the lips, the use and color of rouge, and the method for its extraction to obtain useful data for practical forensic application.[4] Later, in 1970, Suzuki and Tsuchihashi conducted a study on 107 Japanese families and named the grooves on labiorum rurorum as sulci labiorum and the lip prints consisting of these grooves as “Figura linearum

Cheiloscopy for Sex Determination: A StudyMonica Kinra, Karthikeyan Ramalingam1, Sathya Sethuraman, Farzan Rehman2, Girish Lalawat2, Anil Pandey2

Departments of Oral pathology and Microbiology, Surendera Dental College, Sriganganagar, 2Jaipur Dental College, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, 1Sebha University, Sebha, Libya

labiorum rubrorum.”[5] In 1972, McDonnell conducted a study on lip prints between two identical twins, and reported that two identical twins seemed to be indistinguishable by every other means but their lip prints were different.[6] In 1981, Cottone reported in his book Outline ofForensicDentistry that cheiloscopy is one of the special techniques used for personal identification.[7] In 1990, Kasprzak conducted a research for a period of 5 years on 1500 persons to elaborate the practical use of cheiloscopy.[8] In 1999, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Illinois State Police considered that lip prints are unique like fingerprints and are a positive means of identification.[9,10]

Recently, in the year 2000, Vahanwala conducted a study of lip patterns to promote the importance of cheiloscopy in forensic science identification.[11]

A dental surgeon has to be involved in various objectives of forensic dentistry like age and sex determination, personal identification of unknown deceased person, analyzing bite marks as evidence, participating in mass disaster, studying lip prints, and giving evidence as his evidence would be very useful in law and justice.

Aims and objectivesOur study was performed to find the potential for determination of sex of an individual from the configuration of lip prints. The middle parts of upper lip and lower lip were studied for unique lip prints.

O R I G I N A L A R T I C L E

Objective: To find out the possibility of sex determination of an individual using lip prints. Materials and Methods: A total of 40 patients (20 males and 20 females) of the age group 20‑30 years were included in this study. Lip impressions were made using lipstick, cellophane tape, and white bond paper. Tsuchihashi’s classification of lip prints was used for analysis using magnifying glass. Results: The analysis revealed that 12 females (60%) and 15 males (75%) were identified correctly with the lip prints. Type III pattern was predominant in males and Type I/I' pattern was predominant in females. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates the potential use of lip prints for sex determination in forensic dentistry, as they are unique to every individual.

KEY WORDS: Forensic dentistry, lip prints, sex determination, Type I, Type I', Type III

ABSTRACT

Address for Correspondence: Dr. Karthikeyan Ramalingam,

Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Sebha University, Sebha, Libya.

E‑mail: [email protected]

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DOI:10.4103/2249-9725.127078

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Kinra, et al.: Cheiloscopy for sex determination

49Universal Research Journal of Dentistry · January-April 2014 · Vol 4 · Issue 1

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A study sample of 40 patients in the age group 20‑30 years were chosen from the outpatient department of Jaipur Dental College, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. The study sample comprised 20 males and 20 females. A blindfolded study was carried out by two investigators and the percentage agreement was 90%. The inclusion criterion was normal lips without any congenital malformations or traumatic injuries or infectious disease. Patients with congenital lip lesions, medical history of disease in lips or traumatic injuries, and known hypersensitivity to lipstick were excluded from the study sample.

The armamentarium included lipstick, brush, scissors, magnifying glass, cellophane tape, and white bond paper [Figure 1]. A dark color lip stick was evenly applied using the brush on both the lips (upper and lower lips) till the vermilion border. The lip impression was made on a strip of cellophane tape on the glued/sticky portion [Figure 2]. The tape with the lip print was

Figure 3: Lip print record

stuck on to a sheet of white bond paper, which served as a permanent record [Figures 3 and 4]. The lip prints obtained were coded keeping in account the name and sex of the respective individuals. At the time of analysis, the sex of the print was not disclosed.

The lip prints were visualized using a magnifying glass. The lines and furrows present, their length, branching, and combinations were noted.

The results obtained were verified from the coded data collected at the beginning of the study. The data were assessed for statistical significance using SPSS version 17.0.2.

RESULTS

UsingTsuchihashi’sstudyontheinterpretationoflipprintpattern,[12] sex determination was correctly made in 15 (75%) males and 12 (60%) females [Table 1, Graphs 1 and 2]. Type III was the most predominant pattern considering

Figure 2: Obtaining lip print from the subject

Figure 4: Lip print record

Figure 1: Armamentarium used for recording lip prints




Universal Research Journal of Dentistry · January-April 2014 · Vol 4 · Issue 150

Graph 4: Statistical analysis

Graph 1: Identification rates

Graph 2: Success percentage

Graph 3: Prevalence of various patterns

DISCUSSION

Santos[13] was the first person to classify lip grooves in 1967. He divided them into four types, namely, straight line, curved line, angled line, and sine‑shaped curve. Tsuchihashi’s classification of lip prints was used foranalysis, which is as follows:[12] the clear‑cut vertical grooves that run across the entire lips are classified as Type I; grooves similar to Type I but do not cover the entire lip as Type I'; branched grooves (branching Y‑shaped pattern) as Type II; criss‑cross pattern, reticular grooves as Type III; undetermined grooves as Type IV, reticular pattern as Type V‑A, and other patterns as Type VI.

For classification, the middle part of the lower lip (about 10 mm wide) was taken as the study area, as proposed by Sivapathasundharam et al.[2] Since this fragment is almost always visible in any trace, the determination of the pattern depends on numerical

both upper and lower lips and both sexes. In males, the predominant type was Type III (65%) followed by Type IV. In females, Type I, Type I', and Type II were observed [Table 2, Graph 3].

Chi‑square test did not show a significant difference on comparing between males and females, with a P value of 0.31 [Graph 4].

But on comparison of lip print patterns and sex identification with Z test, a significant correlation was noted between Type III pattern and males and Type I/I' pattern and females.

When Type III pattern was compared with the two groups, the Z‑score was 4.5185 and the P value was 0. The result was significant at P < 0.05. The proportion of yes or no responses for observation 1 was 0.75. The proportion for observation 2 was 0.05.

When Type I/I' pattern was compared, the Z‑score was 3.7134 and the P value was 0.0001. The result was significant at P < 0.05. The proportion of yes or no responses for observation 1 was 0.6. The proportion for observation 2 was 0.05.

The other parameters did not achieve statistical significance.

Table 1: Percentage of correct identification with lip printsTotal Correct

identificationWrong

identificationPercentage of

correct identification

Males 20 15 5 75Females 20 12 8 60Total sample

40 27 13 67.5

Table 2: Prevalence of various patternsType I/I' Type II Type III Type IV

Males (n=20) 0 0 13 7Females (n=20) 12 8 0 0Total sample (n=40) 12 8 13 7




51Universal Research Journal of Dentistry · January-April 2014 · Vol 4 · Issue 1

superiority of the line properties in this area. Gender was determined as follows: Dominance of Types I and I' patterns as female, dominance of Types I and II patterns as female, presence of Type III pattern as male, and Type IV showing varied patterns as male. Determination of the pattern depends on numerical superiority of the line properties of the study area.

Lip prints are very useful in forensic investigation and personal identification. They are considered the most important forms of transfer evidence, and are analogous to fingerprints.[12] Lip prints are usually left at crime scenes, and can provide a direct link to the suspect. In recent years, lipsticks have been developed that do not leave any visible trace after contact with surfaces such as glass, clothing, cutlery, or cigarette butts.[14] These lip prints are characterized by their permanence and are, therefore, referred to as “persistent” lip prints. Although invisible, these prints can be lifted using materials such as aluminum powder and magnetic powder. The use of lipsticks is not indispensable for leaving lip prints. The edges of the lips have sebaceous glands, with sweat glands in between. Thus, secretions of oil and moisture from them enable the development of “latent” lip prints, analogous to latent fingerprints. Even though the lines and furrows are present in both upper and lower lips from one corner of the mouth to the other, only the middle portion in the lip is taken into account since this portion is always visible in any traces.[15,16]

Our study showed 75% accuracy in identifying males and 60% accuracy in identifying females. The overall accuracy of sex identification was 67.5% in our study. In this study, participants in the age range of 20‑30 years were selected, so as to rule out chance of error in the interpretation of the sex of an individual related to specific age.

According to a study by Vahanwahal et al.,[16] Type I and Type I' patterns were found to be dominant in females, while Types III and IV patterns were dominant in males. The study by Naik et al.[17] showed that Type IV pattern was the most prevalent in males and Type I/I' pattern was the most prevalent in females. In our study, Type III pattern was most prevalent in males and it was also statistically significant. Type I/I' was most prevalent in females and it was also statistically significant.

Another study by Vahanwahal and Parekh[11] showed that all four quadrants of the same type were predominantly encountered in females, whilst male subjects revealed the presence of different patterns in a single individual.

CONCLUSION

Lip prints are promising as a supplementary tool along with other modes to recognize the sex of an individual. If the sex of an individual is known, it is easy to shortlist the array of suspects with motives of crime. Present study beholds the potential for determination of sex. Though the results obtained in the study do not prove this to be an infallible method, it does assure to go one step further closer to the truth. We recommend a study on larger sample size to verify our results and contribute to the forensic database.

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mortem identification using lip prints. Forensic Sci Int 2005;149:129‑32.2. Sivapathasundharam B, Prakash PA, Sivakumar G. Lip prints

(cheiloscopy). Indian J Dent Res 2001;12:234‑7.3. Synder LM. Textbook of Homicide Investigation. Identification of

Dead Bodies. Springfield: Charles A Thomas; 1950.4. Suzuki K, Suzuki H, Tsuchihashi Y. On the female lips and rouge. Jpn

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means of lip print. J Indian Dent Assoc 1970;42:8‑9.6. Aggarwal A. The importance of lip prints (Forensic files). Available from:

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Special Tech (Cheiloscopy) 1981. p. 135.8. Kasprzak J. Possibilities of cheiloscopy. Forensic Sci Int 1990;46:145‑51.9. Castelló A, Alvarez‑Seguí M, Verdú F. Luminous lip‑prints as criminal

evidence. Forensic Sci Int 2005;155:185‑7.10. Lip print identification anyone? Available from: http://forensicevidence.

com/site/ID/ID00004_10.html. [Last accessed on 2008 Nov 10].11. Vahanwahal SP, Parekh DK. Study of lip prints as an aid to forensic

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identification. Int Microform J Leg Med 1967;2:64‑8.14. Alvarez Segui M, Miquel Feucht M, Castello Ponce A, Verdu Pascual F.

Persistent lipsticks and their lip prints: New hidden evidence at the crime scene. Forensic Sci Int 2000;112:41‑7.

15. Ball J. The current status of lip prints and their use for identification. J Forensic Odontostomatol 2002;20:43‑6.

16. Vahanwala S, Nayak CD, Pagare SS. Study of lip‑prints as aid for sex determination.Medico‑legalUpdate2005;5:93‑8.

17. Naik SK, Prabhu A, Nargund R. Forensic odontology: Cheiloscopy. Hong Kong Dent J 2011;8:25‑8.

How to cite this article: Kinra M, Ramalingam K, Sethuraman S, Rehman F, Lalawat G, Pandey A. Cheiloscopy for Sex Determination: A Study. Univ Res J Dent 2014;4:48-51.

Source of Support: Nil, Conflict of Interest: None declared



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Kinra Et Al-2014-Universal Research Journal of Dentistry