Knowledge, Awareness and Practices of Forensic Dentistry: A Questionnaire Study among Dental Personnel Practicing in Bhimavaram Town, South India

Aims: The aim of study is to assess the knowledge and awareness on forensic odontology among dentists in Bhimavaram town

Method and Material: A structured questionnaire comprising of 14 close ended questions (Sharma et al 2015) with slight modifications, validated through a pilot survey was distributed among 100 dentists residing at Bhimavaram town and were assessed. The questions were about importance of dental records and their maintenance, identification of child abuse or bite marks, importance of dental witness in the court of law for person identification and interest among dentists to learn about forensic odontology.

Results: This present study showed that 90.9% MDS participants and 77.7% BDS participants were maintaining their dental records in their dental practice, though 94.5% MDS and 75.5% BDS were aware about forensic dental witness, only 1.8% of MDS participants were called by court of law for forensic evidence. Only 7.2% of MDS participants were trained and confident in handling forensic related cases.

Conclusions: The results show that knowledge and awareness about forensic dentistry among BDS and MDS individuals are in primitive stage. However very few members of participants were trained in forensic dentistry which suggests that practice of same is to be progressed in Bhimavaram town.