Allied Dental Students' Perceived Knowledge, Confidence, and Attitudes Regarding Disaster Victim Identification...

Area of Science:

• Forensic Odontology
• Dental Radiology
• Disaster Victim Identification (DVI)

Background:

• Disaster victim identification (DVI) requires specific knowledge, confidence, and attitude (KCA).
• Assessing the KCA of allied dental professionals is crucial for effective DVI services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the perceived KCA of allied dental students concerning DVI skills and topics.
• To determine if simulated DVI exercises improve students' readiness for mass fatality incidents (MFI).

Main Methods:

• A cohort of dental hygiene and dental assistant students participated in a study involving simulated antemortem (AM) and postmortem (PM) radiographic matching.
• Students completed pretest/posttest surveys assessing self-perceived knowledge and attitude towards DVI.
• Statistical analyses, including linear trend tests and Fisher's exact test, were used to evaluate changes in KCA.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in perceived knowledge and confidence were observed regarding the role of forensic odontologists, DVI applications in MFI, dental radiology, and dental morphology in DVI.
• Students reported moderate to extreme confidence in their clinical skills to support forensic odontologists.
• A positive association was found between confidence levels and correct radiographic matches.
• Attitude towards volunteering for DVI services significantly improved.

Conclusions:

• The study demonstrated significant improvements in allied dental students' self-perceived KCA for DVI.
• These findings suggest that targeted educational opportunities can enhance dental professionals' preparedness and willingness to contribute to DVI efforts during MFI.