An assessment of attitudes to, and extent of, the practice of denture marking in South Australia

Abstract

Denture marking or labelling is not a new concept in either prosthetic or forensic dentistry and its routine practice has been urged by forensic odontologists internationally for many years. In the general community it is often recommended for institutionalized persons to prevent confusion of ownership of dentures. In Australia, the Nursing Home Standards require that dentures of residents be 'discreetly labelled' and marking of all dentures is recommended by the Australian Dental Association. In some countries the marking of dentures is regulated by legislation, but elsewhere there seems to be a reluctance to effect this practice. Various methods which have been proposed include the insertion of an identifying label during the fabrication of the dentures with the utilization of a number of materials and coding systems. This study reports the results of a survey undertaken to determine the extent of the practice of denture marking in South Australia, the methods in use, and the attitudes of dentists, dental technicians and institutions to it. The results indicated that 24.5 per cent of all practitioners providing removable prostheses to their patients include an identifying label as part of the service on some occasions. This included 19.9 per cent of general dental practitioners, 25 per cent of specialist prosthodontists, 57.1 per cent of practitioners with training in forensic odontology, and 43.5 per cent of clinical dental technicians. No practitioner labelled dentures routinely. Reasons cited for not labelling dentures included cost, lack of awareness of standards and recommendations and a belief that it was of little importance.