Child abuse: perception and management of the Brazilian endodontists

Resumo

In Brazil, dentists have a legal, moral, and ethical
obligation to notify competent authorities of suspected cases of
maltreatment. Studies conducted in several countries reported the
difficulties of dentists in the diagnosis, documentation, and reporting
of suspected abuse cases to authorities. Objective: The aim of this
study was to investigate the perception, diagnosis and attitudes of
Brazilian endodontists towards child abuse. Material and methods:
Data were collected from 56 questionnaires, considering a total of
248 sent by mail (response rate = 23%) to the endodontists (female
= 73%). Results: Forty-one percent (n = 23) of the professionals
answered that they were able to identify cases of abuse, while
59% (n = 33) answered that they were unable. Considering their
graduation years, 93% (n = 52) stated that they had received little
information on this issue, and only 5% (n = 3) attended seminars
on this subject during the year before the questionnaire’s application.
Although 61% (n = 34) of the professionals affirmed that suspicious
cases must be reported, only 30% (n = 17) knew to whom. Eighteen
percent (n = 10) of the endodontists reported they had already
treated suspicious cases, although only 3.5% (n = 2) reported the
case to the authorities. The most cited signs of abuse were: body
bruises (48%; n = 27), change in behavior (48%; n = 27) and burn
marks (12.5%; n = 7). Lesions presented in the face, mouth, and
teeth were reported by 27% (n = 15) of the professionals. There were
no statistically differences regarding the number of notifications in relation to either the number of years since graduation or the
workplace. Conclusion: It was concluded that it is necessary to improve
endodontists’ formation concerning to child abuse identification, in
order to modify their behavior, therefore, increasing the number of
suspicious cases’ notifications.