Knowledge and professional experiences concerning child abuse: an analysis of provider and student responses.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to explore dentists', dental hygienists', dental students', and dental hygiene students' knowledge about their professional responsibilities concerning suspected child abuse and their professional experiences with this issue.

Methods: Questionnaire data were collected from 220 general dentists, 158 dental hygienists, 233 dental, and 76 dental hygiene students regarding their knowledge, professional responsibilities, and behavior concerning child abuse.

Results: Twenty percent of the dentists and 9% of the dental hygienists had reported at least 1 case of suspected child abuse. While 83% of the dental professionals knew that they had to report suspected cases of child abuse, only 73% of the students knew their legal responsibility. Also, only 28% of the professionals and 18% of the students knew where to report suspected child abuse. Compared to students, professionals had more knowledge concerning the diagnosis of child abuse, while students were more knowledgeable concerning signs of sexual abuse. Professionals, however, were less likely to know that failure to report suspected abuse was a misdemeanor.

Conclusion: These data showed that not all dental care providers and students were prepared to fulfill their legal and professional responsibilities in these situations.