Teaching future dentists to detect and report suspected child abuse and neglect

<p>Child abuse and neglect often presents with signs on<br />the head and neck, which dental professionals examine<br />on a regular basis. If educated on how to detect and<br />report it in their schools, they can help in solving the<br />problem of under‐reporting. Although, some<br />curriculums have been developed for educating dental<br />students and a lot of stress has been laid on the issue<br />through continuing education, still a lot of cases go<br />unnoticed each year. There is one elaborate, robust and<br />comprehensive curriculum with a multi ‐ disciplinary<br />approach reported in the literature, which was recently<br />developed at the University of Tennessee. This article is<br />a summary of the same. This curriculum has four<br />phases, which are spread out in four years of education<br />of the DDS students. The students are sequentially<br />introduced to the findings of Suspected Child Abuse and<br />Neglect (SCAN), they are shown case scenarios, they<br />work with medical and law students to understand their<br />professional and ethical duties, and are required to deal<br />with a simulation case at the end. Future studies should<br />assess the effects of this curriculum and its overall<br />impact in the long run.</p>