Received: 21 March 2019 Revised: 19 June 2019 Accepted: 8 July 2019 DOI: 10.1111/scd.12408 ARTICLE Morphology of the palate, palatal rugae pattern, and dental arch form in patients with schizophrenia Raquel Porto Alegre Valente Franco 1 Rafael Zancan Mobile 1 Clarissa de Fátima Santos Filla 2 Ricardo Sbalqueiro 2 Antônio Adilson Soares de Lima 1 Rhonan Ferreira Silva 3 Luiz Renato Paranhos 4 Orlando Motohiro Tanaka 5 Anna Turkina 6 Ademir Franco 6 1 Department of Stomatology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil 2 Department of Psychiatry, Associação San Juan Amigos e Colaboradores, Curitiba, Brazil 3 Department of Forensic Anthropology, Scientific Police of Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil 4 Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil 5 Department of Dentistry – Orthodontics, School of Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil 6 Department of Therapeutic Dentistry, Institute of Dentistry, I. M. Sechenov First Moscow Medical State University, Moscow, Russian Federation Correspondence Ademir Franco, DDS, Spec. FO, MSc, PhD, Department of Therapeutic Dentistry, Institute of Dentistry, I. M. Sechenov First Moscow Medical State University, Bol’shaya Pirogov- skaya Ulitsa 19с1, 119146, Moscow, Russia. Email: franco.gat@gmail.com Funding information Scientific Initiation Program, Grant/Award Number: Four-month scientific initiation grant at UFPR Abstract Aims: This study aimed to investigate the morphology of the palate, palatal rugae pattern, and dental arch form in patients with schizophrenia. Methods and results: An observational case-control study was designed following the STROBE statement and checklist. The sample consisted of 132 patients (39 diag- nosed with schizophrenia and 93 controls). Dental casts of the patients were classified based on the pattern of their palatal rugae, their dental arch form, and the area of their palate. The palatal rugae in patients with schizophrenia had a more random distribu- tion and shape compared to the control group (P = .027). Oval dental arches were the most prevalent in both groups (P = .473). The palate area was slightly larger in the control group (3.2318 ± 0.549 mm 2 ) compared with the group of patients with schizophrenia (3.060 ± 0.470 mm 2 )(P = .090). Conclusion: Palatal rugae pattern may feature as a potential minor physical anomaly for schizophrenia. Additional studies with alternative sampling and classification sys- tems are necessary to understand this finding and its applications in practice. KEYWORDS morphology, palatal rugae, schizophrenia 1 INTRODUCTION Intrauterine and perinatal experiences may trigger develop- mental alterations that increase the risks of expressing spe- cific diseases in adulthood. 1 Schizophrenia is a specific dis- ease stimulated by genetic and environmental factors that impact brain function. 2,3 In parallel, phenotypic alterations © 2019 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. also emerge in this syndrome-based scenario. 2 In the scien- tific literature, these morphological alterations are described as minor physical anomalies (MPAs). 4 According to a system- atic literature review, 5 the mouth region (especially the palate) represents a prevalent anatomical site for the occurrence of MPAs in patients with schizophrenia. Other anatomical sites include the head, eye, foot, hand, and ears. 5 Spec Care Dentist. 2019;1–7. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/scd 1