title: Child abuse and neglect.
abstract: Child abuse and neglect are important public health problems and recent estimates of their prevalence suggest that they are considerably more common than had hitherto been realized. Intervening to change parenting practices may, however, be important in their treatment. Despite their frequent occurrence among dental patients, neglect is the least known and identified type of abuse. The present case reports a 3-year-old girl suffering from abuse and neglect. The girl had dental neglect and also performed poorly in all parameters of growth and development. This case describes the process that was followed in order to reach a diagnosis and safeguard the child. The parent was counseled and the girl got her due share of access to comprehensive oral and general health. This case emphasizes that the dental professional should always be vigilant and collaborates among like-minded individuals to increase the prevention, detection and treatment of these conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics, Kamineni Institute of Dental Sciences, Narketpally, Nalgonda District, Andhra Pradesh, India. drkkiran@gmail.com
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kiran
mesh_terms: D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003376:Counseling; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis; D009065:Mouth Rehabilitation