Journal of Forensic Psychology

Abstract

Forensic Odontology: Psychological Aspects Reflected in the Dental Mirror

Giselle Manica, Scheila Manica

Forensic dentists can feel pressured to deliver expert opinion or deal with psychological issues that might rise from their investigative involvement in cases associated with death, child abuse and disaster victim identification. Their regular exposure to these elements of their professional practices can negatively impact the enjoyment of mental health and possibly require the assistance of a psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist, or a counselor. Our objective is to inform individuals who aim to become forensic dentists and those who already have a career in the field, exposing some characteristics of its professional demands, relating them to some insights on how the fulfillment of these duties influence positively or negatively the psychological states undergone by these professionals, and briefly but responsibly to illustrate how mental health professionals can act in the sense of building autonomy and self-care skills in their clients, so that forensic dentists can continue working without suffering, unnecessarily and or quietly. We conclude by recommending that it is urgent that further research and discussion on the nature and reverberations of the professional and bio psychosocial suffering of forensic dentists must be developed, for a society that disregards the care for its carers denies, from its start, the very significance of what means to ‘care for’.

Published Date: 2020-05-18; Received Date: 2020-05-07