Dental Student Skills in Matching Radiographs for Forensic Identification and in Forensic Knowledge

Abstract

Purpose and Objectives. Dental and dental hygiene curricula must meet the core competencies established by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation. As a result, there is limited time to expose students to the research and knowledge associated with additional important topics, such as dental forensics. The purpose of this research is to assess dental forensic knowledge and dental forensic radiographic skills of dental students. Methods. Ten radiographs of extracted permanent maxillary molars were exposed. One of the teeth was heat-altered to 600°F (315.6°C) for 15 minutes and then was radiographed. The 11 radiographs were presented to 152 dental students who were asked to match the radiograph of the heat-altered tooth to the original radiograph of that tooth. Students were also asked to respond to a 10-question survey about dental forensic knowledge. Results. Most (92.1%) students matched the heat-altered tooth’s radiograph with the original radiograph. Five survey questions had at least 70% of the respondents with correct responses. There were no statistically significant differences by dental class status or sex. Conclusion. Although dental students were competent in matching radiographs, there remains a need for more knowledge about dental forensics.