Abstract
Aim: To assess the reliability and validity of morphometric features on 3D digital models produced by scanning maxillary dental casts of Malaysian Malay subjects. Methods: Dental casts of 20 subjects were scanned using a 3D laser scanner (Next Engine Inc., Santa Monica, California, USA). The palatal rugae morphometric features were assessed on the resulting 3D models using 3-Matic Research 9.0 software (Materialise NV, Heverlee, Belgium). The assessments were repeated by the first and second authors to assess the intra- and interexaminer reliability, respectively. Rugae morphometric features were also evaluated on the conventional plaster models to assess the validity of the 3D method. Results: Kappa values of the validity ranged from 0.807 to 0.922 for rugae shape, size category and direction. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for rugae number validity was 0.979. For intra-examiner reliability, kappa values ranged from 0.716-1.000 for rugae shape, size category and direction. The ICC for rugae number intra-examiner reliability was 0.949. Kappa values of interexaminer reliability for rugae shape, size category and direction were 0.723-885, while the ICC of rugae number was 0.896. Conclusion: Palatal rugae analyses on 3D digital models scanned by the 3D Next Engine laser scanner using 3-Matic Research 9.0 software are valid and reliable.
Highlights
Palatal rugae are transverse mucosal ridges that are located in the anterior third of the hard palate, behind the incisive papilla, and laterally extended from the median palatine raphe[1]
The morphometric characteristic of the palatal rugae have been studied by many researchers in many fields of dentistry, especially forensic odontology and orthodontics[2,3,4,5,6]
Palatal rugae morphometric characteristics might be used for comparison between ante-mortem and post-mortem records for the purpose of human identification in the presence of ante-mortem records such as dental casts, digital images or prosthesis[7]
Summary
Palatal rugae are transverse mucosal ridges that are located in the anterior third of the hard palate, behind the incisive papilla, and laterally extended from the median palatine raphe[1]. Palatal rugae morphometric characteristics might be used for comparison between ante-mortem and post-mortem records for the purpose of human identification in the presence of ante-mortem records such as dental casts, digital images or prosthesis[7]. They might be used in conjunction with other methods for sex or ancestry predictions[8,9]. Plaster dental casts are commonly used by dental clinicians and researchers. They are susceptible to damage and occupy physical space for storage[10,11]. The digital models offer a solution to the mentioned disadvantages, and they are ready for superimposition analyses in treatment progress monitoring[5,12,13] and for sharing with colleagues through the internet[11]
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