Forensic Dentistry
Forensic dentistry (or forensic odontology) is the handling, examination and evaluation of dental evidence in criminal justice cases.
As well as criminal justice cases, forensic dentists are also involved with Disaster Victim Identification (DVI), which may use similar and shared techniques from forensic dentistry.
Forensic dentists are involved in assisting investigative agencies to identify recovered human remains in addition to the identification of whole or fragmented bodies.
They may also be asked to help in determining age, ethnicity, occupation, previous dental history and socioeconomic status of unidentified human beings.
Age estimation is also used for living people, particularly to assist immigration authorities in deciding whether refugees or illegal migrants have reached that designated age (usually 18) which separates a juvenile from an adult.
This course was created with the help of John Clement who held the Inaugural Chair of Forensic Odontology at Melbourne Dental School.
Course Review: Forensic Dentistry by Dentaljuce
Overview
Participants gave consistently positive feedback on Dentaljuce's "Forensic Dentistry" module, highlighting its clarity, fascinating content, and informative nature. This CPD course effectively enhanced participants' understanding and appreciation of the critical role forensic dentistry plays within legal and investigative contexts.
Key Strengths
Participants particularly valued:
Engaging and Fascinating Content: Learners frequently described the course as "very interesting" and "fascinating," reflecting strong engagement and enthusiasm towards forensic dentistry.
Informative and Insightful: The course provided comprehensive knowledge, significantly enhancing participants' understanding of forensic dentistry principles and practices. Comments praised it as "very informative," "really insightful," and "highly recommended."
Practical Relevance: Participants emphasised the importance and usefulness of course content in real-world practice, especially in maintaining accurate dental records for identification purposes and collaborating with legal authorities.
Specific Positive Comments
Feedback included particularly strong endorsements:
- "Great section, forensic dentistry is fascinating."
- "It highlighted the significance of maintaining comprehensive records of dental treatments, radiographs, and other relevant information."
- "Really knowledgeable course."
- "Interesting insight into forensic dentistry."
- "Highly recommended."
Suggestions for Improvement
Participants expressed overall satisfaction, with no suggestions for improvement.
Participant Satisfaction (Closed-Question Summary)
- Met Learning Objectives: 100% strongly agree/agree
- Good Quality: 100% strongly agree/agree
- Useful & Relevant: 100% strongly agree/agree
- Engaging: 100% strongly agree/agree
- Pitched at Right Level: 100% strongly agree/agree
These outstanding ratings reflect participants' strong endorsement of the course's relevance, quality, and effectiveness.
Final Impression
Dentaljuce's "Forensic Dentistry" course was highly commended by participants, who found it informative, engaging, and practically beneficial. It successfully deepened professional knowledge and underscored the essential importance of forensic dentistry within clinical and legal environments.
Aim
The aim of the learning and teaching materials in this Dentaljuce module is to allow learners to develop their professional knowledge and understanding of Forensic Dentistry, in line with their identified personal learning requirements.
Course objective
- to teach members of the dental team the principles and practice of forensic dentistry.
Anticipated learning outcomes:
The learner will, with respect to the components that he or she has elected to study as listed below:- know the importance of keeping good dental records for person identification.
- know the circumstances in which they may share dental records with the police and legal authorities.
- understand the difference between open and closed disaster victim identification.
- understand the remit of the forensic dentist in legal proceedings.
- understand the roles and reliability of dental, DNA, and other evidence in both formal and forensic identification.
GDC Development Outcomes
This CPD will support the learner in meeting the following GDC Development Outcome(s): B.