Original Article
Year : 2022 | Volume : 7 | Issue : 1 | Page : 18 - 29
IMPORTANCE AND MAINTENANCE OF DENTAL RECORDS- ARE DENTISTS AWARE? A SURVEY AMONG PRIVATE DENTAL PRACTITIONERS.
Anoli Agarwal, Prashanth VK, Arun Dodamani, Dr. Shruti Pundkar, Dr. Prachi Ray, Dr. Asmita Hamand
Department of Public Health Dentistry, ACPM Dental College, Dhule
Address for Correspondence
Dr. Anoli Agrawal, Post-graduate student, Department of Public Health Dentistry, ACPM Dental College, Dhule
email id - anoliagrawal@gmail.com
Abstract
Introduction:
Forensic expertise, including dental identification and expertise in civil litigation cases related to dental malpractice and injuries mostly count on dental records. Comparison of dental data obtained from the deceased person with dental data obtained by the dentist from the person’s life is a primary method of identification through dental evidence.
Material and Methodology:
In all, 180 dentists participated in an online survey. Questions covered general information on dentists, maintenance of dental records, and knowledge of legal requirements and forensic odontology.
Results:
66.6% of dentists said that they update patients’ data on every visit. 86.6% of dentists were aware of the use of Dental records in Forensic Odontology. 89.9% of dentists were not aware of how they should present the data when asked by the legal authority whereas only 10.1% of Dentists were aware of how they are supposed to provide the data. The percentage of dentists who knew how long they are legally mandated to keep patient records showed a significant difference (p<0.05) between BDS (Bachelors of Dental Surgery) and MDS (Masters of Dental Surgery) practitioners.
Conclusion:
Dentists being aware of forensic odontology, still lack the information about the legal aspects of it. Forensic odontology should be included in the curriculum as a separate subject to improve knowledge at the grassroots level. The focus should also be improved towards raising the awareness among private practitioners regarding the practical aspect of forensic odontology.
Keywords: Dental record, forensic odontology, Dental practitioners, forensic, medico-legal cases
Funding
This research has received no external funding.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
How to cite this article:Anoli Agrawal, Prashanth VK, Arun Dodamani, Shruti Pundkar, Prachi Ray, & Asmita Hamand. (2022). Importance and Maintenance of Dental Records- Are Dentists aware? A survey among Private Dental Practitioners: Importance and Maintenance of Dental Records. International Journal of Forensic Odontology, 7(1), 18–29. https://doi.org/10.56501/intjforensicodontol.v7i1.89
Received on: 12 February 2022 Accepted on: 15 April 2022 Published on: 22 June 2022
