Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Cheiloscopic Evaluation in Forensic Odontostomatology: Exploring Potential and Limitations

Emanuele Di Vita
,
Davide Albano
ORCID logo ,
Andrea Trizzino
,
Fabio Massimo Sciarra
,
Simone Vintrici
,
Lorenzo Reali
,
Enzo Cumbo
,
Giuseppa Bilello
ORCID logo ,
Stefania Zerbo
,
Antonella Argo
,
Pietro Messina
,
Giuseppe Alessandro Scardina
* ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 12 June 2024 / Approved: 13 June 2024 / Online: 13 June 2024 (14:55:42 CEST)

How to cite: Di Vita, E.; Albano, D.; Trizzino, A.; Sciarra, F. M.; Vintrici, S.; Reali, L.; Cumbo, E.; Bilello, G.; Zerbo, S.; Argo, A.; Messina, P.; Scardina, G. A. Cheiloscopic Evaluation in Forensic Odontostomatology: Exploring Potential and Limitations. Preprints 2024, 2024060932. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.0932.v1 Di Vita, E.; Albano, D.; Trizzino, A.; Sciarra, F. M.; Vintrici, S.; Reali, L.; Cumbo, E.; Bilello, G.; Zerbo, S.; Argo, A.; Messina, P.; Scardina, G. A. Cheiloscopic Evaluation in Forensic Odontostomatology: Exploring Potential and Limitations. Preprints 2024, 2024060932. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.0932.v1

Abstract

Background: The aim of this experimental work was to evaluate cheiloscopy potential: to confirm the individual uniqueness of lip prints, to verify the presence of recurrent patterns according to the Suzuki and Tsuchihashi classification and to search for characteristics that can be used in establishing the sex of a subject, with a focus on assessing the method's limitations. Methods: Lip prints were taken from a sample of 172 volunteers using liquid lipstick and transparent adhesive tape and were digitally analyzed. Results: 59 prints (35.3%) were not considered for Suzuki and Tsuchihashi classification due to quality errors and the impossibility of visualizing lip wrinkles in one or more sextants. All the digitized prints revealed themselves to be unique after having been analyzed using superimposition. Qualitatively valid prints indicated a prevalence of Type II in both male and female. A major problem was that the analysis of the same print by different operators often resulted in a different attribution of a Type. Conclusions: The potential of cheiloscopy lies mainly in the matching of prints, given their uniqueness, but the absence of a database greatly limits its use. Additionally, its use for sex identification does not seem to be reliable. It is necessary to establish an acquisition protocol for taking and analyzing prints that could reduce the errors committed by the operator.

Keywords

Cheiloscopy; Forensic dentistry; Lip prints; Sex.

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Clinical Medicine

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Download PDF

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0
Get PDF Cite Share 0
Bookmark BibSonomy Mendeley Reddit Delicious
×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.