Forensic odontology as a victim identification tool in mass disasters: A feasibility study in the Indian scenario

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness of practicing dentists about the subject of forensic odontology and to assess their willingness to maintain and share patient records. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A blind questionnaire survey was carried out among 100 randomly selected practicing dentists in district Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. RESULTS: Most of the dentists interviewed were familiar with the subject of forensic odontology and its relation to dentistry, despite forensic dentistry having been newly introduced since 2007 into the undergraduate dental curriculum in India. However, dental records are maintained by only a few dentists, and only a very small percentage of them reported to have shared records, which may have helped in the identification of victims in a mass disaster. CONCLUSION: The result of our survey concluded that more awareness needs to be developed among practicing dentists regarding maintaining and sharing patient records for forensic odontology to succeed as a victim identification tool.