Enhancing child protection responses in oral health practice: A scoping review of evidence-based approaches

Abstract

Child abuse and neglect represent significant global health challenges with long-lasting adverse impacts. Oral health practitioners, who often interact with children, play a key role in detecting and responding to suspected cases. Despite this, there is a notable gap in the systematic child protection measures in dental practices globally. This scoping review, utilising the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, aims to outline current approaches for oral health practitioners and identify gaps in the approaches designed to enhance their responsiveness. Covering studies from January 2000 to May 2023, the review explored educational programmes, guidelines and interdisciplinary training modules. A comprehensive search across multiple databases, including MEDLINE, CINAHL and Scopus, along with grey literature sources, identified 1230 sources, resulting in the inclusion of 20 relevant sources. Findings highlight three main approaches: dental-specific education programmes, practical guidelines for child protection responses and analysis of legal and professional obligations. These approaches demonstrate a mix of direct educational interventions and policy-driven strategies aimed at enhancing oral health practitioners' knowledge, attitudes and practices towards child abuse and neglect. Given the identified variability and gaps in training and resources, future research should assess the effectiveness of these approaches and develop comprehensive, culturally safe training for oral health practitioners globally.