Citation

McDowell JD, Kassebaum DK, Fryer GE. Spec. Care Dentist. 1994; 14(2): 49-53.

Affiliation

Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences, University of Colorado Health Science Center, School of Dentistry, Denver 80262.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Special Care Dentistry Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7871460

Abstract

A survey was sent to 1,000 Colorado dentists to evaluate their recognition and reporting of child, elder, and spouse abuse. Approximately 40% of the dentists returned the survey. In answering questions about suspected and reported cases of child abuse, 29% of the respondents indicated that they had suspected at least one of their patients to be a victim of child abuse, while 14% of the respondents had actually reported at least one case. Only 7% of the responding dentists had ever suspected a case of elder abuse, while just over 1% indicated that they had reported at least one suspected elder abuse case to authorities. When asked about their recognition and reporting of spouse abuse, 30% of the responding practitioners had suspected at least one case, while only 3% had ever actually reported a case to authorities. The overwhelming majority of responding dentists indicated that they needed to know more about child, elder, and spouse abuse.

Language: en