Knowledge And Awareness on Forensic Odontology Among Law Professionals

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Ashwin Krishna B, Dr. Gheena S, Dr. Sandhya

Abstract

AIM: To create awareness among law professionals on the importance of  forensic odontology.


BACKGROUND:


Forensic Odontology has been a crucial scientific factor in medico-legal matters and in the identification of the dead person. Different strategies have been developed to determine age, sex, and nationality of the person, using dental tissues which is helpful in solving crime cases.


MATERIALS AND METHODS:


Online survey was done through a standard questionnaire and the data is collected and  tabulated. The data is  further analysed using SPSS statistical software version 23.


RESULT:


About 71.11% of the law professionals are aware that teeth can serve as a source of DNA. Majority 64.44% of the respondents are aware that sex determination can be done by using bar bodies. Nearly  60% of the law professionals are aware that bite marks are the most common evidence in case of any sexual abuse or child abuse. The majority 31.46% males believed Fingerprinting and 13.48% females felt  physical and anthropological examination to be the first step for identification of dead bodies. The differences were statistically not significant (Chi square test, P value = 2.50).


CONCLUSION:


In this study we observed that DNA fingerprinting is the first step of identification of unclaimed bodies; the bite Mark analysis and lip printing are helpful tools in Forensic odontology.In this study it is evident that the law professionals are moderately aware of the importance  of forensic odontology.


 

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