title: New Zealand dental therapists' beliefs regarding child maltreatment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate dental therapists' perceptions of the problem of child maltreatment and their roles in child protection, their experience/recollections of past training, and how frequently they suspect (and report) abuse or neglect.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ethical approval was obtained and a postal survey was conducted of all 643 New Zealand (NZ) dental therapists with current annual practising certificates and known addresses. Data were double-entered for accuracy and analysed in SPSS version 20.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The participation rate was 49.8% (N=320 of 643). Most dental therapists (77.1%) believed rates of death due to child abuse were greater in NZ than other countries. More than 81% desired more continuing professional education courses. During the past year, 18.1% had suspected physical abuse, 30.9% had suspected neglect and 53.1% had suspected dental neglect in their patients. About half of all suspected cases were never reported. The major barrier was a fear of mistakenly reporting a non-abuse case.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most NZ dental therapists believe they have an important role in child protection, yet their suspicions are frequently unreported. Dental therapists may benefit from appropriate support and clear advice from their employers when dealing with suspected cases of maltreatment.
authors.affiliation: Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, University of Otago, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Dhara
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tilvawala
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Rami
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farah
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Broadbent
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002651:Child Advocacy; D002669:Child Welfare; D003727:Dental Auxiliaries / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry; D011364:Professional Practice; D024382:Professional Role; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: child protection; dentistry; maltreatment; non-accidental injury; oral