Maintenance of antemortem dental records in private dental clinics: Knowledge, attitude, and practice among the practitioners of Mangalore and surrounding areas.

Introduction: With time, an increase in the number of crimes, mass disasters, and wars, has led to the identification of the deceased or assailant critical. In such circumstances, antemortem dental records play a crucial role.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey involved 95 dentists practicing in and around Mangalore. The structured questionnaire comprised 24 questions regarding the practice of maintenance of dental records. The questionnaire was given either personally or sent by post. The data obtained was subjected to descriptive analysis.

Results: With 87% of the dentists maintaining records, only 31% of them recorded all the details required to be present in a dental record. Of these 18% of them maintained the records for >5 years.

Conclusion: The results suggest that most of the practicing dentists in this area either do not maintain or maintain inadequate records, which is alarming. Thus, there is a need to set protocols to increase the awareness for maintaining good dental records.