Abstract

Aims & objectives: This study's objective was to assess understanding, and attitude/ practices of forensic odontology among students of dentistry. Material & methods: An institution based cross sectional survey, was carried out among 309 students of Narayana Dental College Nellore, AP, India, belonging to III, IV BDS, Internship & post-graduation, from Feb to May 2023. Questionnaire forms which included 22 open & closed end questions on knowledge & awareness (19 questions) & attitude/practice (03 questions) towards forensic odontology, were distributed and were collected with their answers. These were further analyzed statistically based on percentages and association with age, gender and year of the study. Results: Our study showed that 94.5% students knew about Forensic odontology as a specialty and 69.3% were aware about its recognition as a subject. 60-70% of students agreed upon the having the knowledge that bite marks, lip prints, rugae patterns, dental radiographs etc. are helpful in the age & gender determination, and which in turn could also aid in the detection of crimes. Only 49% of participants knew about training programs in forensic odontology & 76% were interested in joining the same. More than 90% agreed that maintaining dental records could help forensic experts in their investigations. In our study, all the participants had adequate knowledge/awareness. Interns displayed more knowledge & awareness when compared to undergraduates and even to postgraduates in few instances. Conclusion: With increasing knowledge & awareness about forensic odontology and students showing keen interest in pursuing the subject more opportunities should be made available. This can be made possible by recognizing this subject as a separate specialty and establishing well equipped training centers. Thus, the scope of forensic odontology in various fields and especially in that of crime investigation & individual identification in different situations gets boosted.
 

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