Dental professional's perspective regarding knowledge, awareness, and attitude towards the importance of charting dental anomalies: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: The presence of dental anomalies could play a significant role in the identification of individuals by comparing antemortem and postmortem data. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and awareness among dental professionals regarding the importance of charting dental anomalies and maintaining dental records.

Methodology: A self-structured questionnaire was e-mailed to dental professionals practicing in India. The responses were recorded, data tabulated, and one-way ANOVA and post hoc tests were applied for analysis. The criterion for significance was p < .05.

Results: A total of 406 dental professionals responded to the survey. A significant difference was observed in the mean attitude score of participants towards the importance of charting dental anomalies and maintaining dental records with regard to place of work (p=.001), gender (p=.044) and educational qualification (p=.039). In addition, a statistically significant difference was observed in the mean awareness score of participants with respect to place of work (p=.033) and gender (p=.001). The major barriers in maintaining dental records were lack of time, adequate knowledge, infrastructure, and financial constraints.

Conclusion: 81.3% and 69.26% study participants had very good awareness and attitude, whereas 71.2% had good knowledge regarding the importance of charting dental anomalies and maintenance of dental records; however, their inaccurate responses in anomaly identification hinted towards the need for proper dental charting and their maintenance to be taught en masse and made part of the BDS curriculum.