[Analysis of medical diagnostic reports (constats) on dental injuries from terminological, dental and forensic medical points of view].

Writing a constat is a professional skill required of every general physician and dentist. Constats are issued by healthcare providers on the investigating authority's, court's or injured person's request. This document is an official judicial evidence, a record of medical examination, and it is also a medical opinion which can determine the outcome of the subsequent legal process. Incomplete and incorrect injury descriptions make it difficult for forensic experts to form accurate and appropriate opinions. The authors examined 147 dental and oral surgical constats from the Universities of Pécs and Debrecen using multidisciplinary approach (according to terminological, dental, surgical, forensic and criminal legal aspects). Several medical reports contained mistakes in terms of inaccuracies and self-contradictions, terminology and professional medical practice. The documents included 352 injuries (11.1% of which were tooth injuries, 47.7% bone injuries and 41.2% soft-tissue injuries). The low number of attributes per injury (0.64 on average) indicates insufficient documentation. As a result of the comparative analysis, significant differences were found between the documentation of dental injuries and that of other bone injuries pertaining to their information content. We can state that physicians are most consistent when describing bone injuries, while they are less articulate about tooth injuries. The authors provide an overview of the legal consequences of injuries as well as the legal practice regarding tooth injuries in Germany and Austria, and recommend the creation of a nationwide, unified terminology for both dental and trauma departments on nasal and dental injuries. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(51): 2154-2161.