Characterization of lip prints in a Portuguese twins’ population

Authors

  • Susana Braga Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Portugal
  • Maria Lurdes Pereira Faculdade de Medicina Dentária da Universidade do Porto, Portugal
  • Benedita Sampaio-Maia Faculdade de Medicina Dentária da Universidade do Porto, Portugal
  • Ines Morais Caldas

Keywords:

forensic odontology, lip prints, cheiloscopy, twins,

Abstract

Lip print patterns are referred to as unique to each individual, but controversy exists surrounding twins. In this study, the lip prints of 19 pairs of monozygotic and 47 pairs of dizygotic twins were studied. The left lower lip was photographed and the furrows were classified using Renaud’s classification. Results showed the same lip pattern was found only in one monozygotic pair (5.3%) and in 4 dizygotic pairs (8.5%), and no significant statistical differences were found between groups (p>0.05). In monozygotic twins only type C furrows presence displayed statistical significant differences (p=0.034). As for dizygotic twins, there were statistical significant differences in the frequency of type A (p=0.005) and type G furrows (p=0.018). As for the most common types, both groups displayed a higher prevalence of vertical furrows (type B: 97.4% and 96.8%, type A: 86.8% and 87.2%, in monozygotic and dizygotic, respectively). The least frequent furrow type was type I and type E in monozygotic (2.6% and 5.3%, respectively) and types E, F and I, in dizygotic (6.4%, 7.4%. and 7.4%, respectively). Our results seem to point out that lip print patterns should be useful carefully in twins’ identification.

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Published

2020-10-06

How to Cite

Braga, S., Pereira, M. L., Sampaio-Maia, B., & Caldas, I. M. (2020). Characterization of lip prints in a Portuguese twins’ population. The Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology - JFOS, 38(2), 40: 46. Retrieved from https://ojs.iofos.eu/index.php/Journal/article/view/1208