Forensic dentistry and disaster victim identification (DVI) in Indonesia

Abstract

ABSTRACT The forensic dentist plays an important role in the disaster victim identification (DVI) operations. The first aim of this study was to explore the opinions of Indonesian dentists on the importance of dental records and the respective awareness of Forensic Dentistry. The second aim was to investigate the basic profile of the Indonesian dentists and their experiences working in the DVI operations. Two web-based surveys (S1 and S2) were sent to 360 Indonesian dentists and eight Indonesia DVI team members, respectively. Results for S1 showed that most dentists (305 out of 341) are aware of the field and the importance of dental records in human identification; however, only 26% of dentists always compile a complete dental chart of the patient. DVI team members (6 out of 8) have an academic background in the field and only the minority experienced difficulties in deployments. Indonesia is susceptible to natural disasters and dentists proved to be important in DVI. Although the Ministry of Health of Indonesia has provided guidelines, the recording of dental data is not up to standard. A regular and systematic monitoring by the dental councils to every dental clinic would certify if dentists are compiling and keeping accurate dental records.