Dentist’s role in recognizing child abuse: a case report

• Autor(a) principal: Cavalcanti, Alessandro Leite
• Data de Publicação: 2009
• Outros Autores: Granville-Garcia, Ana Flávia, Costa, Edja Maria Melo de Brito, Fontes, Luciana de Barros Correia, Sá, Lenora Oliveira Pereira Diniz de, Lemos, Alexandre Durval
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista odonto ciência (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://revistaseletronicas.pucrs.br/ojs/index.php/fo/article/view/3789
• topic: Child; violence; Dentistry

Purpose: To report the dentist’s contribution in the identification, intervention and follow-up of a case of physical child abuse. Case description: A 5-year old child was brought by his stepmother to the Pediatric Dentistry Clinic of the Dental School of the State University of Paraiba, Brazil, for routine dental care. The physical examination revealed a hematoma in the left orbit. As the patient’s report was inconsistent, he was referred to the Department of Psychology in order to obtain more information about the cause of the trauma and, if necessary, establish immediate protective measures for the child and plan the future actions for the case. Conclusion: This case illustrates the importance of an interdisciplinary approach for situations of violence involving children. Since physical violence can produce injuries in any part of the body, the dental staff must be prepared to identify any clinical evidence s well as to offer the adequate treatment for each case.