Awareness of Forensic Dentistry among Dental Practitioners

Background- Dental identification has proved its importance in identifying deceased individuals, andrecently it has evolved as a new ray of hope in assisting forensic medicine, but its importance and role inforensic medicine is still in a state of infancy in India. Very less institutions offers formal training in forensicodontology, with the lack of job opportunities for qualified forensic odontologists who have obtained degreesabroad.Materials and Methods-A cross?sectional study was conducted among 70 dental practitioners of Jaipur,Rajasthan. Data were collected with the help of a questionnaire (Based on Attitude, Knowledge and Practicecriteria.) Questionnaire used in study. Informed consents were obtained.Results-A total 70 dental practitioners responded to the questionnaire out of these 20% not maintain dentalrecords in their clinic, 77% maintained dental records, 3% participants did not answer the question.Conclusion- For an efficient forensic investigation, we need a dental team, comprising personnel from allbranches of dentistry, working in close association with experts from other branches of forensic science. Thegovernment has a social obligation to recover, identify and hand over the remains of a deceased person to therelatives and every effort must be made to achieve this.