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Child abuse and dentistry: A study of knowledge and attitudes among dentists in Victoria, Australia
Author(s) -
John Vijay,
Messer Louise Brearley,
Arora Rohan,
Fung Summy,
Hatzis Eurydice,
Nguyen Tam,
San Anjali,
Thomas Kate
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
australian dental journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.701
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1834-7819
pISSN - 0045-0421
DOI - 10.1111/j.1834-7819.1999.tb00230.x
Subject(s) - child abuse , medicine , family medicine , position (finance) , psychiatry , suicide prevention , dentistry , psychology , poison control , medical emergency , finance , economics
Child abuse is a disturbingly common finding in society today. In view of the high proportion of orofacial injuries seen in victims of child abuse, dentists are in a strategic position to recognize and report suspected cases. The present study of 347 dentists in Victoria, Australia, assessed the level of knowledge and attitudes among dental professionals on the important issue of child abuse. While a high level of interest was shown by the participants towards this issue, a need for further information and training in the recognition and reporting of child abuse was seen in the survey findings. While dentists at present are not legally mandated in all states of Australia to report suspected cases of child abuse, the dental profession is in a key position to play an active role in the identification and reporting of this substantial community problem.