Forensic Anthropology Awareness and importance of forensic odontology amongst faculty members and students of dental institutes in Pakistan (original) (raw)
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Awareness of dental students about forensic odontology in Karachi, Pakistan
2020
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Forensic odontology is a neglected field of dentistry despite its importance in profession. It must be considered as part of dental curriculum and undergraduate students must have insight into the subject. The objective of this study was to evaluate the awareness of dental graduates regarding forensic dentistry in Karachi, Pakistan. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2019 among different dental colleges of Karachi. About 500 participants including house officers, postgraduate trainees, and dental teaching faculty were recruited through convenience sampling. Inclusion criteria were undergraduate and graduate dental students of recognized dental colleges who verbally consented for study. All quacks and non-registered practitioners were excluded. A predesigned questionnaire was used to collect data which consists of two sections, i.e., basic demographic data and knowledge of dental practitioners regarding forensic dentistry, respecti...
Knowledge and Awareness of Forensic Odontology among Dental Professionals of Karachi, Pakistan
Deleted Journal, 2019
Introduction: Forensic dentistry is a challenging and fascinating branch of forensic science that involves the application of dental sciences in the identification of deceased individuals through the comparison of ante and postmortem records. (1) Objective: The research will not only highlight the need of implementing Forensic Odontology training in undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum in the country by investigating knowledge and awareness of dental professionals towards Forensic Odontology specially related to identification, age, mass disasters and child abuse Methods:A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 8 private and public dental colleges after approval from institutional authorities to assess knowledge and awareness of forensic Odontology among dental professionals in Karachi Results: Most of the research participants (84.9%) denied having any experience related to medico-legal cases. For both genders of respondents, 69% thought their knowledge was not sufficient to give medico-legal opinion. In addition, approximately 79.3% of them did not receive any formal training for collecting and preserving dental evidence. However, a vast majority of respondents (75 %) dentists want Forensic Odontology to be included as a separate subject in the undergraduate curriculum Conclusion:By including Forensic Odontology as a separate subject in the undergraduate curriculum and as a speciality in postgraduate curriculum, dentists will gain knowledge of theoretical and practical aspects of analysis and preservation of dental evidence.
The Open Dentistry Journal
Aims: The aims of this study were to assess dental students’ knowledge and attitude with regard to forensic odontology and to determine students’ opinions in the current dental curriculum. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among dental students at one of the main dental colleges in the United Arab Emirates; only dental students on their final year and internship were invited to participate. An online self-administrated questionnaire was used, which consisted of a set of 15 questions. All the data were entered into Microsoft Excel and then transferred into SPSS. Results: A total of 276 dental students contributed to this study. The highest percentage of correct responses stated by the students was related to the estimation of individuals’ age and estimation of dental age based on radiograph and eruption status. However, there were clear deficiencies in students’ knowledge in relation to other aspects such as gender identification and lip-print, palatal rugae as an ind...
SciDoc Publishers, 2021
Objectives: Study explores intern’s perception regarding Forensic odontology in Undergraduate (UG) curriculum based on their qualitative feedback in a private dental institution, Bangalore, India. Methods: A qualitative study was undertaken using a focus group approach with a purposive sample of interns of a private dental institution, Bangalore. Ethical approval was obtained before the study. Group discussions were initiated by using guideline document. Audio recording and field notes from the two focus groups, with a total of 16 participants, were transcribed and analysed using a thematic approach. Results: Themes derived were Present scenario of Forensic odontology in Undergraduate curriculum, Expectations of interns from Undergraduate curriculum regarding Forensic odontology, Existence of Forensic odontology as a subject in Undergraduate curriculum and as a specialization in dentistry, Scope of Forensic odontology in India, Exhortation to strengthen Forensic odontology. Interns felt that the Forensic odontology in Undergraduate curriculum is inadequate in respect to time allocated for teaching, weightage given in university exams and competency acquired in the field, as compared with the international standards. Interns showed inclination towards acquiring basic skills in Forensic odontology to manage patients in their routine clinical practice. Conclusion: Incorporating substantial content of Forensic odontology in Undergraduate curriculum needs to be considered by Dental Council of India during curriculum revision process to train the general dentist better in this field.
2019
Background: Forensic odontology is an expanding field within the domain of forensic sciences, where dental knowledge is applied in identification of individual(s) through analysis of the dental related records. In this study we aimed to assess the knowledge, awareness and practices of dentists in the field of forensic odontology. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted over 248 dentists practicing in teaching hospitals as well as private practice in Karachi, Pakistan. Multiple close-ended questions were answered by the respondents, in which their knowledge and awareness about forensic odontology was evaluated. They were also asked about their practices of maintaining dental records of the patients. Results: Majority of the dentists had knowledge about importance of forensics in dentistry (86.2%) and mostly (88.7%) were aware that they could be of help to forensics experts if they maintain proper records. But when asked about their practices in maintaining dental records, o...
Introduction: Forensic dentistry is a challenging and fascinating branch of forensic science that involves the application of dental sciences in the identification of deceased individuals through the comparison of ante-and postmortem records. Recently, forensic odontology has evolved as a new ray of hope in assisting forensic medicine, but, this vital and integral field of forensic medicine is still in a state of infancy in India. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study is to analyze the awareness and compliance of forensic odontology among dentists in Davangere. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 200 dental practitioners in Davangere and data was collected by means of a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 12 relevant questions with demographic data. Chi Square test, descriptive statistics and regression analysis was done to analyze the data using SPSS v21. Results: This present study showed that only 49.5% of the participants had a part of forensic dentistry in their curriculum. The present study revealed that 88.5% of the participants were aware of the importance of maintaining dental records. 82% of the dental practitioners did not know how to estimate the dental age and gender by examining the teeth. 86.5% of dental practitioners had no formal training in collecting, evaluating and presenting dental evidence. 75% of the practicing dentists in this study never practiced forensic odontology. Conclusion: Forensic Odontology is a still in the infancy stage in India, but, can touch the sky if proper awareness and education is rendered. This condition, however, could be improved by making forensic odontology a part of our academic curriculum, providing hands on courses for the same.
Forensic odontology in the 21st century - Identifying the opinions of those behind the teaching
Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 2019
From the 19th century, society has been aided by Forensic Odontology and the teaching practice has rapidly expanded in the last 30 years. Information about academics and teaching topics can be found in literature but any research has never investigated the basic profile of lecturers by survey. The aim of this study was to explore the lecturers' opinions on teaching the subject in the 21st century and its current standing. Even though the number of forensic dentists is not low worldwide, not all are involved with teaching. A total of 36 dentists (26 males, 10 females) from 19 countries answered to a survey of eight-questions. Results showed a high prevalence of males (84.6% postgraduate) as opposed of 100% of women postgraduate. Forensic ‘dental identification’, ‘overview of forensic dentistry’ and ‘DVI’ were topics widely taught and ‘bite mark analysis’ was considered the most difficult one. The ‘lack of funding’ was the greatest limitation (36.1%) followed by ‘lack of recognition and case work’ (equally 30.6%). Past problems continue to jeopardize this field and forensic dental bodies should formally liaise with universities and dental councils for the complete expansion of it.
Knowledge, awareness and practice of forensic odontology among the dentists of Punjab
Journal of Indian Academy of Oral Medicine and Radiology, 2019
The aim of the study was to evaluate knowledge, awareness, and practice related to forensic odontology among dental surgeons in Bhubaneswar, East India. Methods: A blind cross-sectional study, using a questionnaire with close-ended questions, was carried out. Interns were included to assess their knowledge and practice (related to dental record keeping) while in an institutional setting. In addition, dentists with Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) and Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) qualifications (irrespective of their specialty) were assessed, which included purely private practitioners, purely academicians (dental surgeons teaching in dental colleges), and academicians-cum-practitioners. Results: The total forensic odontology knowledge, awareness, and practice score (based on summing all the positive responses-for all the relevant questions-and calculating the percentage) was 80%, 76%, and 84% for the MDS, BDS, and intern group, respectively. Conclusion: This study is the first of its kind to be undertaken in East India. The results show that there is an adequate level of knowledge and awareness regarding forensic odontology in all the groups investigated. Overall, the three groups also had adequate levels of good practice related to dental record keeping. However, regarding individual questions, there were some instances among the groups of inadequate levels of good practice.
A call for a new speciality: Forensic odontology as a subject
Journal of Forensic Dental Sciences, 2014
Background: Forensic science is defined as a discipline concerned with the application of science and technology to the detection and investigation of crime and administration of justice, requiring the coordinated efforts of a multidisciplinary team. Dental identification remains one of the most reliable and frequently applied methods of identification. Hence, it can be defined as the science that deals with evidence from the dental and oral structures and is a specialty in itself. Objectives: To analyze the level of awareness of Forensic Odontology amongst the individuals from the field of dentistry with the help of a survey. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was prepared and a survey was conducted with a sample size of 200 divided in four groups. Results: Revealed inadequate knowledge, poor attitude, and lack of practice of forensic odontology prevailing among the dentists. Conclusion: Our study reflects the current situation of our country in the field of forensic odontology, which could be improved by introducing forensic odontology as a subject in the dental curriculum at both the undergraduate and the postgraduate levels.