Differences in the palatal rugae shape in two populations of India

Palatal rugae shape revealed significant differences between the two Indian populations and also confirmed previous reports of lack of sex dimorphism. Discriminant function analysis allowed moderate differentiation of the populations and it is inferred that discrete variables such as rugae shape are better suited for the purpose than continuous variables such as rugae length. However, these interpretations are precluded by the small sample size and further work on larger samples is required to validate the findings.