Knowledge of Dental Students about Child Abuse
A Scoping Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35699/2178-1990.2025.60807Keywords:
child abuse, dentistry, domestic violenceAbstract
Aim: evaluate the scientific literature on the knowledge of dental students regarding child violence.
Methods: A scoping review was conducted in the PubMed and Virtual Health Library databases using the Population, Concept, and Context strategy. The population considered consisted of dental students; the concept addressed was knowledge about domestic violence against children; and the context referred to dental education. The guiding question was: “What is the scientific production on dentists’ knowledge regarding child violence?” Thirteen articles published between 2006 and 2024 were included, predominantly with a quantitative approach, with emphasis on studies conducted in the United States and published in journals such as the Journal of Dental Education.
Results: The studies investigated students’ knowledge, attitudes, and preparedness concerning child violence, revealing significant gaps in academic training, particularly regarding the identification and reporting of cases. Despite students’ ethical and legal awareness, curricular deficiencies were noted, such as limited workload and lack of effective pedagogical approaches to the subject.
Conclusion: The analyzed scientific literature highlighted substantial gaps in dental education curricula, emphasizing the urgent need to incorporate, in a structured and continuous manner, content related to child violence in order to equip future professionals to properly recognize and report such cases.
References
Petrović M. Etiology and phenomenology of violence against children. Pravo. 2023;40(2):89-100.
Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Análise epidemiológica da violência sexual contra crianças e adolescentes no Brasil, 2011 a 2017. Boletim Epidemiológico. 2018;49(27):1-17.
Massoni AC, Ferreira AM, Aragão AK, Menezes VA, Colares V. Aspectos orofaciais dos maus-tratos infantis e da negligência. Cien Saude Colet. 2010;15(2):403-10.
Bohner LOL, Bohner TOL, Canto GL. Maus-tratos na infância e adolescência: protocolo de atendimento no consultório odontológico. Rev Gest Educ. 2012;6(6):1239-43.
Costacurta M, Benavoli D, Arcudi G, Docimo R. Oral and dental signs of child abuse and neglect. Oral Implantol (Rome). 2016;8(2-3):68-73.
Jahanimoghadam F, Kalantari M, Horri A, Ahmadipour H, Pourmorteza E. A survey of knowledge, attitude and practice of Iranian dentists and pedodontists in relation to child abuse. J Dent (Shiraz). 2017;18(4):282-8.
World Health Organization. Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire. Geneva: WHO; 2018.
Pereira SGM, Vargas AMD, Sampaio AA, Silva CJP, Matoso BSM, Ferreira EF. Percepção e atitude do cirurgião-dentista diante do atendimento emergencial a mulheres em situação de violência: uma revisão de escopo. Cien Saude Colet. 2022;27(9):3729-40.
Munn Z, Peters MDJ, Stern C, Tufanaru C, McArthur A, Aromataris E. Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2018;18(1):143.
Dolic O, Obradovic M, Kojic Z, Jankovic S, Davidovic B, Knezevic N, et al. Attitudes and knowledge of dental students in Bosnia and Herzegovina towards child abuse and neglect. Eur J Dent Educ. 2024;28(4):1036-46.
Hashim R, Al-Ani A. Child physical abuse: assessment of dental students’ attitudes and knowledge in United Arab Emirates. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent. 2013;14(5):301-5.
Jessee SA, Martin RE. Child abuse and neglect: assessment of dental students’ attitudes and knowledge. ASDC J Dent Child. 1998;65(1):21-4.
Thomas JE, Straffon L, Inglehart MR. Knowledge and professional experiences concerning child abuse: an analysis of provider and student responses. Pediatr Dent. 2006;28(5):438-44.
Manea S, Favero GA, Stellini E, Romoli L, Mazzucato M, Facchin P. Dentists’ perceptions, attitudes, knowledge, and experience about child abuse and neglect in Northeast Italy. J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2007;32(1):19-26.
Ivanoff CS, Hottel TL. Comprehensive training in suspected child abuse and neglect for dental students: a hybrid curriculum. J Dent Educ. 2013;77(6):695-705.
Al-Jundi SH, Zawaideh FI, Al-Rawi MH. Jordanian dental students’ knowledge and attitudes in regard to child physical abuse. J Dent Educ. 2010;74(10):1159-65.
Ivanoff CS, Andonov B, Hottel TL. Dental students’ knowledge and reporting of child maltreatment: where are we at today both here and abroad? Eur J Dent Educ. 2023;27(2):223-33.
Jordan A, Welbury RR, Tiljak MK, Cukovic-Bagic I. Croatian dental students’ educational experiences and knowledge in regard to child abuse and neglect. J Dent Educ. 2012;76(11):1512-9.
Malpani S, Arora J, Diwaker G, Kaleka PK, Parey A, Bontala P. Child abuse and neglect: do we know enough? A cross-sectional study of knowledge, attitude, and behavior of dentists regarding child abuse and neglect in Pune, India. J Contemp Dent Pract. 2017;18(2):162-9.
Meyer L, Lehmann T, Schüler IM. Child abuse and neglect: a comparative study between dental and medical students’ competencies in Germany. Eur J Dent Educ. 2024;28(1):302-12.
Raja S, Rajagopalan CF, Kruthoff M, Kuperschmidt A, Chang P, Hoersch M. Teaching dental students to interact with survivors of traumatic events: development of a two-day module. J Dent Educ. 2015;79(1):47-55.
Nunes LS. Abuso infantil: significados e condutas de dentistas da Estratégia Saúde da Família de Belo Horizonte – um estudo qualitativo [dissertação de mestrado]. Belo Horizonte, MG: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; 2020.
Tricco AC, Lillie E, Zarin W, O’Brien KK, Colquhoun H, Levac D, et al. PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): checklist and explanation. Ann Intern Med. 2018;169(7):467-73. doi:10.7326/M18-0850
Peters MDJ, Godfrey C, McInerney P, Munn Z, Tricco AC, Khalil H. Scoping reviews. In: Aromataris E, Lockwood C, Porritt K, Pilla B, Jordan Z, editors. JBI Manual for evidence synthesis. JBI; 2024. Disponível em: https://synthesismanual.jbi.global. doi:10.46658/JBIMES-24-0
