Statement of Problem: Identification of victims in accidents, under state of unconsciousness and scenario of natural calamity poses a great problem. A mistaken identification results in serious consequences at a later time. Denture labelling would greatly reduce the labor intensive work in the process of identification of individuals.
Aim: This survey was undertaken to assess the extent of awareness prevailing among dentists regarding denture labelling and to determine the extent of denture labelling in day to day clinical practice.
Materials and Method: A written questionnaire was prepared, with a set of 14 questions. Questionnaires were distributed to different groups of dentists- Interns, General dental practitioners, Prosthodontic specialist, other specialist in the dental colleges in Namakkal district. The subjects were also catergorized into those with ≤ 5 years of practice and those with > 5 years of practice. The response from the dentists were collected and analyzed. Results: Statistical analysis was done using Pearson chi square test. Above 50% of dentists were aware of the term, above 80% of dentists were unaware of methods of labelling and 100% of dentists were not practicing it.
Conclusion: A significant amount of dentists were aware of denture labelling, but none of them were practicing it. Lack of knowledge was the reason for it. There is a need for taking necessary steps to include denture labelling in the syllabus, constructing guidelines and thereby improving awareness. Thereby it could be incorporated in day to day practice which will be of greater significance in individual identification.
