Detailed didactic sessions for the above components, either in the form of lectures or as structured students-teacher interactions, is essential. Specialists from multiple disciplines, particularly from legal and forensic sciences, can be encouraged to undertake teaching in their area of expertise. An interactive, navigable and non-linear (INN) model may also be utilized for education. Practical exercises (real-life casework and / or simulated cases) must complement didactic sessions to facilitate optimal student understanding of the subject. Mandatory practical training in dental identification methods, dental profiling (ethnic and sex differences, radiographic age estimation), and bite mark procedures, is of paramount importance. In addition, practical exercises / demonstrations in histological age estimation, comparative dental anatomy, DNA methods, medical autopsy, court visits, and other topics may be conducted depending on available expertise, equipment and feasibility. Approach to teaching forensic odontology Forensic odontology could be covered in two separate streams. The divisions include a preclinical stream and a clinical stream. Preclinical stream: Introduction to forensic odontology Sex difference in odontometrics Ethnic variations in tooth morphology Histological age estimation Dental DNA methods Bite marks procedures Overview of forensic medicine and toxicology It could prove useful to undertake the preclinical stream in II or III year under Oral Biology / Oral. Pathology since these aspects of forensic odontology require grounding in dental morphology, dental histology and basic sciences, which, students would have obtained in I and / or II BDS. Clinical stream: Dental identification Maintaining dental records Radiographic age estimation Medical jurisprudence and ethics It would be suitable to undertake these topics in the IV or V year as part of Oral Medicine and Radiology, since students require reasonable clinical exposure and acumen to interpret dental records, perform dental postmortems and analyse dental radiographs for age estimation. ETHICS (20 hrs. of instruction) INTRODUCTION:
Detailed didactic sessions for the above components, either in the form of lectures or as structured students-teacher interactions, is essential. Specialists from multiple disciplines, particularly from legal and forensic sciences, can be encouraged to undertake teaching in their area of expertise. An interactive, navigable and non-linear (INN) model may also be utilized for education. Practical exercises (real-life casework and / or simulated cases) must complement didactic sessions to facilitate optimal student understanding of the subject. Mandatory practical training in dental identification methods, dental profiling (ethnic and sex differences, radiographic age estimation), and bite mark procedures, is of paramount importance. In addition, practical exercises / demonstrations in histological age estimation, comparative dental anatomy, DNA methods, medical autopsy, court visits, and other topics may be conducted depending on available expertise, equipment and feasibility. Approach to teaching forensic odontology Forensic odontology could be covered in two separate streams. The divisions include a preclinical stream and a clinical stream. Preclinical stream: Introduction to forensic odontology Sex difference in odontometrics Ethnic variations in tooth morphology Histological age estimation Dental DNA methods Bite marks procedures Overview of forensic medicine and toxicology It could prove useful to undertake the preclinical stream in II or III year under Oral Biology / Oral. Pathology since these aspects of forensic odontology require grounding in dental morphology, dental histology and basic sciences, which, students would have obtained in I and / or II BDS. Clinical stream: Dental identification Maintaining dental records Radiographic age estimation Medical jurisprudence and ethics It would be suitable to undertake these topics in the IV or V year as part of Oral Medicine and Radiology, since students require reasonable clinical exposure and acumen to interpret dental records, perform dental postmortems and analyse dental radiographs for age estimation. ETHICS (20 hrs. of instruction) INTRODUCTION:
4thBDS-syllaus.docx