Role of the oral care provider to call attention to child abuse
The focus on child abuse has increased in recent years. In 2015, the Royal Dutch Association of Dentists (KNMT) revised the Sign Code ‘child abuse and domestic violence’. The core of the Sign Code is formed by the compulsory 5-step action plan for the signalling of, among other things, (a suspicion of) child abuse that must be followed. Dealing professionally with child abuse places high demands on the knowledge and communication skills of the health care provider. If the demands are met, the health care provider is by law adequately protected against complaints. Many health care providers are still uncomfortable about applying the Sign Code. The number of contacts with Safe at Home for advice and reports coming from oral care amounts to only a few one-thousandths of the total number of contacts. In dealing with the neglecting of oral care, the most common form of child abuse in the area of dental care, professional action is usually still limited to symptom relief. Organised care via chain formation offers possibilities for the coordination of targeted action on child abuse.