Do Lip-prints Hold Potential Promise as an Individual Identification Tool?

Objective: Human identification is a universal process based on scientific principles, mainly involving finger printing. Likewise, the lip print is unique of an individual and hence beholds the potential for identification purpose. Several studies, using a chieloscopy method, indicated that lip prints show differences according to the race and ethnicity of individual. This study sought to identify the common lip patterns of Saudi females in order to assess whether lip-prints hold the potential for personal identification. Methods: A total of 150 females ages of 15-50 years were selected from King Abdul-Aziz University medical students. The materials used to record lip prints were lipstick, sticky cellophane tape, White chart paper (A4 ROCO) and a magnifying lens. The samples were then photographed and examined by the picture manager and fax viewer programs. A modification of Suzuki and Tsuchihashi classification was used to classify the types of grooves and the results were statistically analyzed. Results: No identically similar lip-print patterns are found in two subjects. Six types of grooves were recorded in this sample. A total of 72% of prints showed the same groove pattern in the upper right and upper left areas, while 75% of the prints showed the same groove pattern in the lower right and lower left areas. It was found that majority of upper lip prints in Saudi female showed reticulation pattern of grooves (type IV) or a clear-cut groove running vertically across the lip (type I). While 87% of Saudi women lower lip prints showed vertical pattern and reticulation pattern of grooves. Non-identical lip-print patterns were recorded in identical twins. Conclusion: This study shows that lip prints are unique to an individual. However, the stability of lip-print patterns over the years should be thoroughly investigated.