Knowledge, Awareness, And Practice Of Teledentistry In Forensic Odontology

Abstract

Background
Forensic dentistry is a very fascinating and challenging field of dental studies. Many researches and studies have been done on this field which makes it exigent. Teledentistry helps in improving doctor-patient interaction. The aim of the present study is to study the knowledge, awareness, and practice of teledentistry in forensic odontology.
Materials and methods
The study was conducted among dental students. 120 responses were obtained. Data was collected through questionnaires. Data was entered in Microsoft excel sheet after collection and was analysed using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics were expressed by means of number, frequency, and percentage. Chi-square test was used to find the association between age and the number of responses provided by the participants.
Results In the present study 38.33% of the students reported having heard about teledentistry, p value for which was found to be 0.071. 90.83% reported thinking that teledentistry will help in forensic odontology, p value for which was found to be 0.040.
Discussion
Many studies reported low awareness of teledentistry and its contribution to forensic odontology and other branches. In the present study, it was found that the dental students had knowledge about forensic odontology but lacked awareness of the contribution of teledentistry or its application.
Conclusion
Teledentistry if propagated properly can become a very helpful tool in dentistry. But teledentistry can prove to be helpful not only in forensic odontology but also in other various fields of dentistry improving the treatment methods and betterment of doctor-patient relation.