Dermatoglyphic Patterns and Periodontal Diseases

Background: Periodontal disease is initiated by bacterial accumulation but some risk factors like genetics also can be responsible for disease progression. Genetic determinants that exist could be suggestive of specific dermatoglyphic patterns for periodontitis. Hence, the present study was an attempt to find if there is any correlation between fingerprint patterns and periodontal diseases. Aim: To compare the fingerprint patterns in generalised chronic periodontitis and chronic generalised gingivitis subjects. Materials and methods: 800 subjects were included in the study. 437 subjects were diagnosed with generalised chronic periodontitis and 363 subjects were diagnosed with chronic generalised gingivitis. Fingerprint patterns were recorded and were analysed manually with illuminated 6X high powered magnifying glass. SPSS software was used for statistical analysis. Results: An increased frequency of radial loop pattern (39.01%) was found in chronic generalised gingivitis subjects, whereas; in generalised chronic periodontitis subjects higher frequency of ulnar loop (37.53%) and central pocket whorl pattern (36.16%) was observed. Conclusion: Dermatoglyphics could be used together with the other diagnostic aids for prediction of periodontal diseases.


INTRODUCTION
Dermatoglyphics is a special branch of scientific studies which deals with the skin ridge patterns on the fingers, toes, palms of hands and soles of feet. The word dermatoglyphics originated from two Greek words: derma meaning skin and glyphe meaning carve and it was coined by Harold Cummins in 1926. The finger and palm prints start to form during the 6th to 7th week of embryonic life and is completed after 10 to 20 weeks of gestation. These dermal ridge patterns remain unchanged throughout the life. 1,2 As the type of finger print is a genetically unique characteristics of each individual, it can be considered as a beneficial tool for prediction of any congenital, intrauterine anomalies or other diseases which are aetiologically influenced by genetic alterations. 3 It is now well established that certain specific dermatoglyphic patterns are significantly observed in some diseases which purely are genetic disorders, such as Down's syndrome, Turner's syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome, Edwards syndrome etc. [4][5][6][7] Variations in dermatoglyphic patterns are also noticed in neurological diseases like Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, cerebral palsy, neurofibromatosis, epilepsy; heart disease like congenital heart disease, rheumatoid heart disease, coronary heart disease. Some unique fingerprint and ridge patterns are frequently seen in patients suffering from diabetes mellitus, cervical cancer, leprosy, essential hypertension, bronchial asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, breast carcinoma and sickle cell anemia. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] In recent times, recognition of irregular fingerprint patterns has become a point of interest in the field of dentistry.
The work conducted by various authors showed there are some significant dermatoglyphic peculiarities in persons with dental problems such as periodontitis, 24 dental caries, 25 cleft lip and cleft palate, 23 oral submucous fibrosis, bruxism, oral squamous cell carcinoma, oral leukoplakia and taurodontism. [26][27][28][29][30] There are three basic types of finger print patterns a) Arches b) Loops and c) Whorls. The arch pattern is subdivided into two types: plain arch and tented arch. Loop pattern is subdivided into ulnar loop and radial loop whereas; subtypes of whorl patterns include double loop whorl, plain whorl, central pocket whorl and accidental whorl ( Figure   1). 31 The most prevalent form of periodontitis, the chronic periodontitis is a slowly progressing inflammatory disease involving the supporting tissues of the teeth causing progressive attachment loss and bone loss. With this background, the present study was conducted to find the possible link between specific finger print patterns and periodontal diseases. The present study aimed to compare the fingerprint patterns in generalised chronic periodontitis and chronic generalised gingivitis patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Subjects for the study were selected from the regular outpatient Department of Periodontology. The subjects were explained about the study and were included after obtaining an informed consent. 800 subjects were enrolled in the study. Clinical evaluation was done, Gingival index (Loe and Silness), Oral hygiene index (Greene and Vermillion) and probing pocket depth were measured. Subjects with pocket depth ≥ 5mm in more than 30% sites were diagnosed as suffering from generalised chronic periodontitis.
Among the 800 subjects, 437 subjects were diagnosed with generalised chronic periodontitis (Group I) and 363 subjects were diagnosed with chronic generalised gingivitis (Group II). Fingerprint patterns of all subjects were recorded on a prepared recording format using blue ink pad. Fingerprint pattern analysis was done manually using an illuminated 6X high powered magnifying glass ( Figure 2). The obtained data were subjected to statistical analysis. SPSS software was used for statistical analysis. For qualitative analysis, Chi Square test was used.

RESULTS
Of the 800 subjects enrolled in the study, 437 (54.62%) were diagnosed with generalised chronic periodontitis and were placed in group I.