Is dental trauma more prevalent in maltreated children? A comparative Study in Southern Brazil

Abstract

Background Although a high prevalence of head and neck trauma has been reported in maltreated children and adolescents, most of these studies focused on record‐based analyses, and only a few used control groups. Aim To assess the presence of dental trauma in maltreated children in comparison with children without a history of maltreatment. Design A cross‐sectional study with 68 maltreated children and 204 age, sex‐, and school‐matched control participants was conducted in Pelotas, a Southern Brazilian city. Socioeconomic and demographic data were collected. Clinical examinations were performed to evaluate dental trauma (O'Brien Index) and dental caries (WHO criteria). Fisher's exact and chi‐squared tests were used for intergroup comparisons of socioeconomic and clinical variables. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to obtain adjusted odds ratios (OR). Results The prevalence of dental trauma was 23.53% (n = 16) among maltreated children and 14.22% (n = 29) in the comparative group. After adjustment, the occurrence of dental trauma showed association with child maltreatment, with an OR of 2.14 (95% confidence interval 1.03‐4.44) for maltreated children in comparison with children in the comparative group (P = 0.04). Conclusions Maltreated children presented with more dental trauma than those with no history of maltreatment.

Turkish paediatric dentists’ knowledge, experiences and attitudes regarding child physical abuse

“…Although neglect is the most common and reported type of maltreatment in some countries 37,38 , the present study dealt only with child physical abuse, in contrast to other studies. A paediatric dentist can readily diagnose child physical abuse during a routine examination, as well as management of a traumatic dental injury 8,20 . The present study had limitations.…”

“…Injury in a child resulting from a physical assault is probably the most common type of abuse that paediatric dentists could encounter. Studies have shown that the head and orofacial region are common sites of trauma from child abuse. Paediatric dentists can provide valuable information and assistance to physicians about orodental signs of child physical abuse.…”

“…It is the second frequently observed form of child abuse after neglect. Among medical staff, paediatric dentists are uniquely placed to detect physical abuse in a child, as 50%–75% of the reported injuries target the mouth, face and neck. Paediatric dentists also have regular contact with patients and parents, which provides an ideal opportunity to observe the physical and psychological states of both children and their parents.…”

“…Physically abused children were reported to present with dental trauma. Paediatric dentists may be the first health‐care professionals to examine a child following a traumatic dental injury.…”

Prevalence of dental, oral, and maxillofacial traumatic injuries among domestic violence victims: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…All of the 17 primary studies presented an observational study design and were conducted in four different settings: hospitals, 9,16,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40] the Institute of Forensic Medicine, [41][42][43][44][45][46] police records, 13 and social services. 47,48 Three out of the six studies conducted in the Institutes of Forensic Medicine were performed on cadavers and included cases of homicides. [44][45][46] The majority of the included studies were indirect and assessed prevalence data through retrospective analysis of records available in institutional databases.…”