title: The management of abuse: 1. Setting the scene.
abstract: This series of articles has been developed to provide all members of the dental team with an understanding of the different forms of abuse, and the political, social and legal context of safeguarding patients. It also aims to assist the dental team in recognizing and managing abuse effectively, by outlining processes whereby dental practitioners can provide a safe environment for their patients to disclose abuse, and identifying protocols for reporting abuse.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The GDP and dental team have an important role to play in dealing with patients who are being abused.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Eastman Dental Institute, UK.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Juggins
authors.forename: Jaspal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Panesar
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.forename: Preeti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Acharya
authors.forename: Hima
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jafar
authors.forename: Elizabeth J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Bower
authors.forename: Victoria E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: J Tim
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Newton
mesh_terms: D003797:Dental Staff / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D014754:Violence / Q000941:ethics*