Purpose and Objectives. Dental and dental hygiene curricula must meet the core competencies established by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation. As a result, there is limited time to expose students to the research and knowledge associated with additional important topics, such as dental forensics. The purpose of this research is to assess dental forensic knowledge and dental forensic radiographic skills of dental students. Methods. Ten radiographs of extracted permanent maxillary molars were exposed. One of the teeth was heat-altered to 600°F (315.6°C) for 15 minutes and then was radiographed. The 11 radiographs were presented to 152 dental students who were asked to match the radiograph of the heat-altered tooth to the original radiograph of that tooth. Students were also asked to respond to a 10-question survey about dental forensic knowledge. Results. Most (92.1%) students matched the heat-altered tooth’s radiograph with the original radiograph. Five survey questions had at least 70% of the respondents with correct responses. There were no statistically significant differences by dental class status or sex. Conclusion. Although dental students were competent in matching radiographs, there remains a need for more knowledge about dental forensics.
Background: Dental forensics is an area of dental research and knowledge in which students receive limited exposure. The purpose of this research was to evaluate dental student knowledge about dental forensics and to evaluate dental student skills in comparing radiographs. Methods: Dental students (N=152) were provided 10 radiographs of extracted teeth. One of the radiographed teeth was heat-altered to 600 °C for 15 minutes. The students were asked to match the heat-altered tooth's radiograph to one of the 10 radiographs. A 10-question survey concerning dental forensics was also presented to the students. Results: There were 92.1% of dental students who were able to correctly identify a heataltered tooth's radiograph from the 10 radiographs provided. Of the 10 questions provided, 5 had a correct response rate above 70%. Conclusion: Dental students were successful in matching a dental radiograph of a heataltered tooth and its original radiograph. However, there is a need for current and emerging information about dental forensics.
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