A paper in this issue of the BDJ has found that few dental professionals with child protection training have experience of making referrals, and reports a wide gap in practice between recognising signs of child abuse and neglect and responding effectively.

The two part paper, the first of which is entitled Safeguarding children in dentistry: 1. Child protection training, experience and practice of dental professionals with an interest in paediatric dentistry, (BDJ 2009; 206: 409–414) found that there was a need for improved child protection information, support and training for dental professionals. The authors found that lack of certainty about the diagnosis was perceived to be the biggest barrier to referral, with 32% of respondents reporting a lack of knowledge of referral procedures.

According to lead author Jenny Harris, a Specialist in Paediatric Dentistry with Sheffield Salaried Primary Dental Care Service, in contrast to previous similar studies with UK dentists, a high proportion of respondents had done child protection training and despite the fact that 67% had suspected abuse or neglect of a child patient at some point in their career, far fewer had ever made a child protection referral.

'We now know a lot about the factors that get in the way of dentists taking action when they suspect that a child is being abused or neglected. It is essential that child protection training effectively tackles these barriers and equips us not only to recognise signs, but also to respond appropriately. Developing good local systems to give dental teams ready access to advice and support would also help considerably,' she said.

The study was initially carried out as part of a learning needs analysis for the Department of Health funded project, 'Child Protection and the Dental Team.' The project, carried out in association with the Committee of Postgraduate Dental Deans (COPDEND), had the remit to develop an educational resource on child protection specifically for dental teams. It resulted in publication of a handbook and website (http://www.cpdt.org.uk) in May 2006.

A report at a scientific conference of the early findings of this study received the attention of the Paediatric Dentistry Policy and Clinical Effectiveness Committee. They responded by inviting development of a new British Society of Paediatric Dentistry policy document on child dental neglect. The finished consensus document is expected to be published online early this summer.