DERMATOGLYPHICS IN DIFFERENT STAGES OF PERIODONTITIS:AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Objective:The objective of the study is to determine the relationship between dermatoglyphics and periodontitis and compare the different finger patterns in different stages of periodontitis. Material and Methods: A hospital-based crosssectional study was conducted, including a total of 80 individuals, divided into study and control groups of 40 each. The study group included clinically diagnosed periodontitis with stage-I, stage-II, stage-III and stage-IV periodontitis patients. The subjects were evaluated for probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level, oral hygiene index simplified, Russel periodontal index, modified gingival index, and full mouth bleeding score followed by recording of fingerprints and subjected for evaluation. Results: Intergroup analysis of clinical parameters showed statistically significant differences between all the groups with p value at 0.000. Multiple group comparisons concerning PPD and CAL were analyzed by post-hoc analysis. Regarding probing pocket depth, it showed a statistically significant between all group comparisons with p-value (0.000), whereas clinical attachment loss showed a statistically significant difference between all group comparisons with p-value (0.000). All the clinical indices showed statistically significant differences between all the groups with significant p-values. Inter-group frequency and distribution of fingerprint patterns of the right hand and left hand showed nonsignificant differences with a p-values of 0.18 and 0.24. Ulnar loops were found to be the most common pattern irrespective of different groups. Conclusion: Within the limits of the present study dermatoglyphics may serve as an early predictor in identifying high-risk group individuals of developing diseases like periodontitis.