Significance of Maintaining Dental Records

Dental record is essential in forensic analysis as it serves as a major tool in providing information for antemortem source. The dental patient record provides a history of care delivered to the patient, the results of examination and diagnostic tests, imaging studies, a plan for addressing conditions that warrant treatment and other information that assists those who provide care to the patient. It is also a legal record that documents professional care provided to the patient. A thorough knowledge of dental records is essential for the practicing dentist, as it not only has forensic application, but also a legal implication with respect to insurance and consumerism. As the dental remains are usually the last to get destroyed among the various body parts after death and hence it has a great importance in identification of a person. So a proper maintenance of dental records is essential so that forensic odontologist can compare the antemortem and postmortem records of the suspect and arrive at a a conclusion. They may also be useful for personal identification in cases of mass disasters and decomposed unidentified bodies. This article enumerates on the methods of collecting dental records and their documentation and their implication in medicolegal issues.