Examining the perceived versus the actual knowledge about forensic odontology: A cross‐sectional survey among dentists

Abstract

Dentists should have the basic essential skills and knowledge about forensic odontology, to better collaborate with law enforcement and investigations. The objective of this survey was to assess the perceived and actual knowledge toward forensic odontology among dentists and to question their willingness to attend training courses on this specialty. A cross‐sectional survey based on a self‐administered questionnaire was conducted in various districts of Saudi Arabia. Four hundred dentists responded to a questionnaire that tested their actual knowledge of forensic odontology based on answering 15 statements using the alternatives correct, incorrect, do not know. The perceived knowledge was registered as strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree, then assigned scores respectively from four to zero. A willingness to attend a training course in the future was recorded by (yes/no). Scores were summated then subjected to descriptive statistics and regression analyses. Responses were received from 360 study participants (89% response rate). The percentage of correct answers, that is, the actual knowledge, was 67.9 (standard deviation [SD] ± 18.4). About two thirds of the responders (n = 251, 69.7%) indicated a willingness to attend a forensic odontology course in the future. Differences in both actual and perceived knowledge were identified on the basis of gender, work experience, education level, attended a course in forensic odontology, and having previously provided a past bite‐mark examination. The perceived knowledge on forensic odontology among dentists was moderate to low. The gap between perceived and actual knowledge signifies low self‐confidence. Dentists with higher education levels and experience tend to have better knowledge.

Awareness of Forensic Odontology among Legal Professionals: An Institutional Study

“…A study done by Almutairi et.al showed that dentists had high level of knowledge on most of the important aspects of forensic dentistry, which are investigations of physical violence, estimation of individuals' age and bite-mark analyses but dentists had knowledge deficiencies that were mainly related to the significance of forensic odontology on other aspects such gender discrimination and childneglect investigations. [14] According to a study done by Avon et.al, a forensic dentistry plays a major role in identification of those individuals who cannot be identified visually or other means. The unique nature of our dental anatomy and the placement of custom restorations ensure accuracy when the techniques are correctly employed.…”

Connecting forensic odontology among medical practitioners in central Kerala – An original study

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Awareness of forensic dentistry among dental professionals in western Saudi Arabia: A knowledge, attitude, and practice-based cross-sectional study

“…The study questions were taken from a previous study. [ 20 , 21 ] A pre-validated questionnaire written in English was distributed online. The legal professionals were asked voluntarily to participate in the study, and confidentiality was to be respected.…”