All dental team members are in a position to observe signs of child abuse or neglect and to support or safeguard a child's wellbeing. The General Dental Council, Standards for the Dental Team states:
- You must raise and concerns you may have about the possible abuse or neglect of children or vulnerable adults. You must know who to contact for further advice and how to refer concerns to an appropriate authority such as you local social services department [1].
- You must find out about local procedures for the protection of children and vulnerable adults. You must follow these procedures if you suspect that a child or vulnerable adult might be at risk because of abuse or neglect [1].
The GDC recommends that all dental team members keep up to date in safeguarding children and young people, and vulnerable adults [2] by undertaking Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The GDC recommends that these topics are completed within each 5 year CPD cycle
Dental teams also have an ethical obligation to ensure that children are not at risk from members of their own profession and to take action to prevent this.
In Scotland, Child Protection Committees (CPC) are responsible for the development, implementation and improvement of child protection strategies, across and between multiple agencies, bodies and the local community. This includes, the development of local policy and procedure, guidance and practice to facilitate the protection of children [3].
Dental team members are not responsible for making a diagnosis of child abuse or neglect but are responsible for sharing concerns appropriately and following local child protection procedures. Note that there is no data protection obstruction to reporting suspected child/vulnerable person abuse.