Can dentists recognize their own work? The forensic implications

After 10 months, 71.4% of a group of dental students were able to recognize amalgam restorations that they had placed in the mouths of manikins. After 24 months, 57.1% of the group were able to recognize their work again. In contrast, only 5.5% of a second group of students, who did not have the interim viewing at 10 months, could recognize their work at 24 months. These results suggest that, with time, dental operators lose the ability to recognize their work but that this ability is prolonged by interim observations of the work. This study underscores the need for dentists to chart and record accurately any artifacts introduced into the patient's mouth, as well as any features that would make the patient unique upon forensic examination.