ADIÇÃO DE RUGAS PALATINAS À PRÓTESES TOTAIS COMO FORMA DE IDENTIFICAÇÃO ODONTOLEGAL

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.2182408033

• Palavras-chave: Prótese Total; Antropologia Forense; Palato; Rugas

• Keywords: Denture, Complete; Forensic Anthropology; Palate; Rugae.

• Abstract: Palatal rugae are anatomical structures which, due to their uniqueness, represent an important means of dental identification. It is often added to complete dentures in order to improve the pronunciation of certain words. In this sense, they can be a relevant tool for expert comparison between first and second records. The aim of this integrative review was to check whether this prosthetic characterization has in fact contributed to odontolegal identification cases. To this end, a bibliographic search was carried out corresponding to the last 10 years, in English and Portuguese, of publications with full and free text available in the Pubmed and VHL databases, using the descriptors "Denture, Complete", Forensic Anthropology, Palate and Rugae. After using the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 05 articles were retrieved, which, after reading the abstract, consisted of only 02 articles. After analyzing these publications, the results of one of the studies showed that palate wrinkles printed on the upper denture were effective in identifying the individual, since they were compared with the palate wrinkles of an old denture of the suspect. The other study stated that adding wrinkles to dentures can help identify missing persons. Despite the fact that few studies have been published giving forensic value to the characterization of these structures printed on the prosthesis, it has established its value, since they may represent the only valid form of identification in the case. In this sense, the keeping of information about the prosthesis, also by the dental surgeon or dental technician, can make a total difference to the conclusive identification examination.