Knowledge and Awareness of Forensic Odontology among Medical and Dental Graduates and Undergraduates in Karnataka, India

Abstract

Background: Forensic odontology is one of the crucial contender of forensic medicine. Medical and dentalprofessionals with appropriate knowledge of forensic Odontology will be able to identify and produce right dataat right time which will help in criminal investigation.Knowledge and awareness of medical and dental students is significant factor that influences quality ofmedicolegal reports like certification of age, determination of race and sex. Hence reasonably good knowledgeand skill regarding forensic odontology should be known to them.Aim of the study is to assess knowledge and awareness of forensic odontology among medical as well as dentalgraduates and undergraduates.Study design: Cross- sectional observational study conducted among 1000 medical and dental students ofJawaharlal Nehru Medical college and Vishwanath Katti Institute of Dental Sciences, Belagavi, India in monthof May 2022. A predesigned pre-validated multiple choice questionnaire containing 16 questions was used in thestudy. Data was analysed and results were expressed in percentage.Results: Most of the participants could correctly answer basic knowledge based questions but only few couldanswer in depth knowledge questions. 94 % of participants were of opinion that there is need for maintainingdental records. But only 18 % were aware of period for maintenance of dental records. 12 % of students knew thatamelogenin gene can be used in determination of sex and only 13 % participants were of dimerjian’s method ofage estimation from teeth.Conclusion: This study shows that participants had positive attitude and basic knowledge of forensic dentistrybut lacked in depth knowledge. Structured skill modules should be included in the curriculum and implementedappropriately so that both medical and dental students gets hands on training in field of forensic dentistry.