Level of Awareness of Maintaining Dental Records Among Dental Practitioners in Sirte, Libya: Are we Ready for Forensic Odontology?
Keywords:
Dental record, Forensic odontology, Sirte's dental practitionersAbstract
Objective: To determine the quality of maintained dental records and analyze the knowledge and use of them in any of forensic or medico-legal purposes by Sirte's dental practitioners. Materials and Methods: A cross- sectional survey was conducted in a sample of 70 dental practitioners in Sirte and data were collected through a structured questionnaire. The data so gathered were subjected for descriptive analysis.
Results: 80 % of surveyed dentists maintained records but only 10% of them kept the complete dental record. When asked about duration of maintained records, 61% of them kept for less than three years. About 56% of sample used paper prepared form as method to maintain dental records and only 20% used computer software. 91% of practitioners did not think that mandatory to legally maintain the dental records, when asked about whether the legal rights of owning the dental records in Sirte is it medico-legally important, 98% response was yes. The significance of dental records for forensic needs was evaluated, only 18% dental practitioners were asked to produce any records in forensic court of law. Only 3% asked to produce dental file for forensic purposes. 55% of practitioners did not know how to estimate the age of individual. About 94% of sample did not have any training in forensic dentistry. All the surveyed dentists' response was yes, when asked about the importance of forensic dentistry in Libya.
Conclusion: The present study showed Non-maintenance or poor quality of dental records maintained. Our study revealed that the dentists in Sirte are not prepared for any kind of forensic and medico-legal need if it arises due to the poor knowledge, attitude and lack of practice of forensic odontology.
References
American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Clinical guideline on record-keeping. Pediatr Dent. 2004;26(7 Suppl):134–9.
Balwant Rai. Five markers of changes in teeth: An estimating of age. Internet J Forensic Sci. 2006;1
Borrman H, Dahlbom U, Loyola E, René N. Quality evaluation of 10 years patient records in forensic odontology. Int J Legal Med. 1995;108:100–4.
Charangowda BK. Dental records: An overview. J Forensic Dent Sci. 2010;2:5–10.
Cole A, McMichael A. Audit of dental practice record-keeping: A PCT-coordinated clinical audit by Worcestershire dentists. Prim Dent Care. 2009;16:85–93.
Delattre VF, Stimson PG. Self-assessment of the forensic value of dental records. J Forensic Sci. 1999;44:906–9.
Ireland RS, Harris RV, Pealing R. Clinical record keeping by general dental practitioners piloting the Denplan ‘Excel’ Accreditation Programme. Br Dent J. 2001;191:260–3.
Helminen SE, Vehkalahti M, Murtomaa H, Kekki P, Ketomäki TM. Quality evaluation of oral health record-keeping for Finnish young adults. Acta Odontol Scand. 1998;56:288–92.
Lawney M. For the Record. Understanding Patient Record keeping. N Y State Dent J. 1998;64:34–43. Morgan RG. Quality evaluation of clinical records of a group of general dental practitioners entering a quality assurance programme. Br Dent J. 2001;191:436–41.
Neville BW, Damn DD, Allen CM, Bouquot JE, editors. Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. 2nd ed. India: Elsevier Publ; 2004.
Osborn JB, Stoltenberg JL, Newell KJ, Osborn SC. Adequacy of dental records in clinical practice: A survey of dentists. J Dent Hyg. 2000;74:297–306.
Pessian F, Beckett HA. Record keeping by undergraduate dental students: A clinical audit. Br Dent J. 2004;197:703–5.
Pretty IA, Sweet D. A look at forensic dentistry-Part 1: The role of teeth in determination of human identity. Br Dent J. 2001;190:359–66.
Samadi FM, Bastian TS, Singh A, Jaiswal R. Dental records – A vital tool of forensic odontology. Medico-Legal Update. 2009;9:14–5.
Singh A, Gorea RK, Singla U. Age estimation from the physiological changes of teeth. J Indian Acad Forensic Med. 2004;26:94–6.
Valenzuela A, Martin-de las Heras S, Marques T, Exposito N. Bohoyo JM. The application of dental methods of identification to human burn victims in a mass disaster. Int. J Legal Med 2000; 113:236-239.
