Knowledge, awareness, attitudes and experiences of parents of dental patients regarding child abuse and neglect

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, awareness, attitudes and experiences of child abuse and neglect as a whole among parents of dental patients. It was also aimed to evaluate the parents' knowledge of dental neglect and to associate it with their children's intraoral findings. Methods The study included volunteer 390 parents and their children who applied to the Department of Pedodontics of Faculty of Dentistry at Suleyman Demirel University for the examination or treatment of their children without special health care needs and between ages of 3-18 years. An information form was employed to ascertain sociodemographic characteristics, level of knowledge, attitudes and experiences of parents in relation to child abuse and neglect. 'Child Neglect and Abuse Awareness Scale for Parents' was used for evaluating parental awareness of child abuse and neglect. Medical status, medication use and tooth brushing frequency of the children included in the study were recorded. DMFT/DMFS, dft/dfs and PUFA/pufa (the clinical oral mucosal consequences of untreated caries in permanent and primary teeth) index scores were determined through the intraoral examinations. The relationships between the scale scores and other quantitative variables were analysed by Pearson Correlation analysis. Independent Sample T test was used for two group mean comparisons and One Way Analysis of Variance was used for more than two group comparisons. Results Parents demonstrated a moderate level of awareness regarding child abuse and neglect. Fathers demonstrated a higher level of general awareness than mothers. The awareness of emotional abuse exhibited a positive correlation with parental age and the number of children. A greater awareness of sexual abuse was observed among parents with male children. Mothers who graduated from primary education and fathers who graduated from secondary education had higher awareness of emotional abuse than parents with undergraduate and graduate education. Mothers who were unemployed or self-employed and fathers who were employee or self-employed were found to be more aware of emotional abuse than those who were civil servants. A greater awareness of emotional abuse was observed among parents with very low monthly income levels compared to those with higher income levels. Dental neglect questions were found to be associated with pufa, DMFT and DMFS indices (p < 0.05). Conclusion Child abuse and neglect was known by the majority of parents, with moderate awareness and low experience. The least known type of neglect with low awareness was dental neglect. Questions about dental neglect were related to oral and dental health indices. There is a need for community-specific education programmes and further research.