The Determination of Heritability in palatal Rugae Pattern among Parents and their Off-Springs in Western India – A Cross-sectional Study

Palatal rugae are asymmetrical elevations present on hard palate and are significant due to their uniqueness, stability and thus, aid in forensic identification. The objective is to determine palatal rugae morphology between parents and their offsprings and to determine their genetic inheritance. This randomized controlled cross-sectional single-blinded study was conducted on 50 families (randomly selected) who visited Vyas Dental College and Hospital. A total of 150 maxillary study models were examined and rugae were delineated and shape, size, and pattern of rugae were recorded. Weak but significant correlation was seen in the nonspecific and angular type of palatal rugae between child and mother and child and father as P < 0.05. Matching with either or both of their parent was seen for curved, wavy, divergent, straight, horseshoe, angular, and nonspecific type of rugae with the higher of wavy pattern matching (52 with mother and 54 with father). A considerable number of samples showed high heritability of primary and secondary rugae from both parents, but more predominantly to their mothers (branched, nonspecific, and straight). Both environmental and genetic factors can influence the rugae pattern. Further, studies should be conducted on a larger sample size to get more significant results.