Variations in dermatoglyphic patterns in oral submucous fibrosis and leukoplakia patients with and without adverse oral habits

Abstract

Introduction: The present study was conducted to determine the comparative variations in dermatoglyphic patterns in patients without oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) and leukoplakia and those having lesions, as well as to predict the occurrence of these diseases and initiate preventive measures in these high-risk patients. Materials and Methods: Dermatoglyphic patterns were collected from randomly selected 120 patients using 3M™ CSD200i. Single-digit Optical Scanner (3M™, Canada, 2015) with automatic capture mechanism was applied to capture finger prints of all the 10 fingers of patients, who were divided in control and test group with respective subgroups of leukoplakia and OSMF. Qualitative analysis of dermatoglyphic patterns in the different groups showed loops, arches, and whorls. Results: The collected data was subjected to analysis using Chi-square test for comparison between the groups; significant difference in P value was observed on comparison between dermatoglyphic patterns in patients with leukoplakia and those with adverse oral habits but without oral lesions (P = 0.00005), patients with OSMF and individuals with adverse oral habits but without oral lesions (P = 0.03), patients with OSMF and individuals without adverse oral habits and without oral lesions (P = 0.004), leukoplakia and OSMF (P = 0.007). Quantitative analysis including total finger ridge count was done by counting the number of ridges in all 10 fingers for all the patients in all the groups. Conclusion: The present study showed weak association in the loop pattern of patients with OSMF than leukoplakia, whorl pattern with adverse oral habits, without oral lesions, and arch pattern with OSMF. More controlled prospective trials are needed to affirm the association, if any, at larger homogeneous Indian sample in future to validate the finding.