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Background <p>Forensic odontology contributes to human identification, age estimation, and medico-legal documentation, yet dental personnel’s preparedness in many regions is unclear. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding forensic odontology and dental record-keeping among dental students, interns, and practitioners in the Aseer region, Saudi Arabia, and examined the associations among the three domains.</p> Methods <p>A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 73 dental personnel across multiple institutions in Abha and Khamis Mushait. Participants were recruited by convenience sampling; the study was designed as a preliminary, single-region assessment. A structured questionnaire assessed knowledge (six single-best-answer items), attitudes (four pro-field Likert items), and record-keeping practices (three adequacy items). Knowledge was categorised using Bloom’s cut-offs. Non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis) and Spearman correlations were used; internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach’s α.</p> Results <p>Overall knowledge was low (mean 40.6%; 50.7% poor, 9.6% good), with the weakest performance on record-retention standards (19.2% correct), cheiloscopy (23.3%), and adult age estimation (23.3%). Attitudes were consistently favourable (mean 14.8/20; α = 0.93) and did not differ across subgroups. Record-keeping practices were moderate (mean 5.7/9); only 19.2% reported appropriate record retention, and 43.8% had encountered a request for dental records, which were incomplete or unavailable in 17.8% of the sample. Knowledge correlated positively with attitudes (ρ = 0.45, <i>p</i> = 0.0004) and practices (ρ = 0.26, <i>p</i> = 0.042), whereas attitudes and practices were unrelated (ρ = 0.13, <i>p</i> = 0.33). Almost half of respondents (46.6%) reported no undergraduate forensic-odontology training.</p> Conclusions <p>In this preliminary single-region study, dental personnel in the Aseer region held favourable attitudes but demonstrate limited forensic-odontology knowledge and inconsistent record-keeping, with knowledge—not attitude—linked to practice. Integrating forensic odontology into dental curricula and continuing education, alongside standardised record-keeping systems, is needed to strengthen regional medico-legal and disaster-victim-identification preparedness.</p>

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Behind the smile: forensic odontology knowledge, attitudes, and practices among dental students, interns, and practitioners in the Asir region, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study

  • 期刊论文

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月31日

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  • Hassan Ahmed Assiri,
  • Abdullah H. Alshehri,
  • Rema A. Alshehry,
  • Hajer Saeed Al-serhani,
  • Rami Abu-dahmah,
  • Khalid Salem Alqahtani,
  • Zayed Assiri,
  • Mohammed Alalmai,
  • Ali Azhar Dawasaz

摘要

Background

Forensic odontology contributes to human identification, age estimation, and medico-legal documentation, yet dental personnel’s preparedness in many regions is unclear. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding forensic odontology and dental record-keeping among dental students, interns, and practitioners in the Aseer region, Saudi Arabia, and examined the associations among the three domains.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 73 dental personnel across multiple institutions in Abha and Khamis Mushait. Participants were recruited by convenience sampling; the study was designed as a preliminary, single-region assessment. A structured questionnaire assessed knowledge (six single-best-answer items), attitudes (four pro-field Likert items), and record-keeping practices (three adequacy items). Knowledge was categorised using Bloom’s cut-offs. Non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis) and Spearman correlations were used; internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach’s α.

Results

Overall knowledge was low (mean 40.6%; 50.7% poor, 9.6% good), with the weakest performance on record-retention standards (19.2% correct), cheiloscopy (23.3%), and adult age estimation (23.3%). Attitudes were consistently favourable (mean 14.8/20; α = 0.93) and did not differ across subgroups. Record-keeping practices were moderate (mean 5.7/9); only 19.2% reported appropriate record retention, and 43.8% had encountered a request for dental records, which were incomplete or unavailable in 17.8% of the sample. Knowledge correlated positively with attitudes (ρ = 0.45, p = 0.0004) and practices (ρ = 0.26, p = 0.042), whereas attitudes and practices were unrelated (ρ = 0.13, p = 0.33). Almost half of respondents (46.6%) reported no undergraduate forensic-odontology training.

Conclusions

In this preliminary single-region study, dental personnel in the Aseer region held favourable attitudes but demonstrate limited forensic-odontology knowledge and inconsistent record-keeping, with knowledge—not attitude—linked to practice. Integrating forensic odontology into dental curricula and continuing education, alongside standardised record-keeping systems, is needed to strengthen regional medico-legal and disaster-victim-identification preparedness.