APRIL IS CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH(2)
APRIL IS CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH Oral Health America Encourages the Dental Community to Watch Out for America’s Children Child abuse is a painful topic for most of us to think about—even for a few minutes—but for children
APRIL IS CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH
Oral Health America Encourages the Dental Community to
Watch Out for America’s Children
Child
abuse is a painful topic for most of us to think about—even for a few
minutes—but for children who live in abusive households, that pain and fear is
never-ending. April is Child Abuse
Prevention Month and Oral Health America would like to call attention to the
important role that dental professionals play in fighting child abuse. Nearly 65 percent of all child abuse injuries
involve injury to the head, neck or mouth, often putting dental personnel first
in line to note abuse of their patients.
For
the past 36 years, Lynn Mouden, DDS, MPH, Director of the Office of Oral
Health, Arkansas Department of Health, has made child abuse prevention in the
dental office his personal mission. He
is the founder of the international P.A.N.D.A. (Prevent Abuse and Neglect
Through Dental Awareness) program, which has empowered dental care professional
throughout the world to look out for signs of abuse and take action when they
see it.
During
Dr. Mouden’s first year in private practice, he saw patients in his office whom
he suspected were victims of physical abuse.
Thinking back to dental school, he remembered hearing that dentists are
required to report suspected cases to the authorities. “So I did just that,”
said Dr. Mouden. “Then I took my
experiences to the district dental society meeting and my colleagues were
surprised. They claimed they had never
seen a case of abuse or neglect in their practice!”
Naturally,
this led Dr. Mouden to believe that there was something horribly wrong within
his own community. After much research,
however, he found that unfortunately, his town wasn’t any different than many
other places. “The other dentists just
hadn’t even recognized the cases in their practices,” said Dr. Mouden. Since then, Dr. Mouden has created
significant awareness within dentistry—and other fields—on how to identify
cases of suspected abuse and how to differentiate between abuse and accidental
injuries that sometimes mimic abuse.
What
are some signs that a dental professionals can look for in their dental
office? “For one, bilateral injuries to
the face are automatic indicators of abuse,” said Dr. Mouden. “For example, it
is extremely difficult for a person to fall down and hit both sides of their
face.” Similarly, patterned injuries
that indicate trauma from a hand or implement may also trigger further inquiry.
“Dentists in every state and dental hygienists in most states are required by
law to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect, and elder abuse and
neglect, to the proper authorities. P.A.N.D.A. programs in each state
work make sure that providers in all areas know the correct reporting
procedures and contact numbers for protective services agencies,” Dr. Mouden
said.
It
is important to note that dental professionals are not required to prove abuse
or neglect, just to report suspected cases. It is left up to the
protective services agencies to determine whether a case is founded or
not. Above all, care providers should remember that nothing could be
worse than suspecting abuse or neglect, not wanting to report or failing to
report it, and having that patient become a fatality of further
maltreatment.
“Working
together” said Dr. Mouden, “we all truly can help prevent family violence.”
Child Abuse Statistics:[1]
- A report of child abuse is made every ten
seconds.
- Almost five children die everyday as a
result of child abuse. More than three out of four are under the age of 4.
- It is estimated that between 60-85% of child
fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death
certificates.
- 90% of child sexual abuse victims know the
perpetrator in some way; 68% are abused by family members.
- Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level,
across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels
of education.
To learn more about P.A.N.D.A. or to
schedule a seminar for your organization, you can contact Dr. Mouden at lynn.mouden@arkansas.gov, or call
501-661-2595. Visit www.oralhealthamerica.org to read our
interview with Dr. Mouden in its entirety.
