title: The dental health of children subject to a child protection plan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In the United Kingdom, child maltreatment is an area of increased awareness and concern.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the dental health of children subject to child protection plans with controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children had to be aged between two and 11 years, medically healthy, and subject either to a child protection plan or attending the paediatric outpatient orthopaedic or general surgery clinics (control group). All children had a standardized oral examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-nine children were examined in each group. Children with child protection plans had statistically higher levels of primary tooth decay than controls (mean dmft 3.82 and 2.03, Mann-Whitney U test P = 0.002). After adjusting for socioeconomic status, the incidence rate ratios for the occurrence of dental caries in the primary dentition in children with a child protection plan was 1.76 (95% CI: 1.44-2.15) relative to the controls. There was no statistical difference in the levels of permanent tooth decay between the study and control groups (mean DMFT 0.71 and 0.30, respectively). The care index was significantly lower (P = 0.008, Mann-Whitney U test) in the study group (1.69%) compared to the control group (6.02%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children subject to child protection plans had significantly higher levels of dental caries in the primary dentition.
authors.affiliation: Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, Rotherham, UK.
authors.forename: Emily J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Keene
authors.affiliation: Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Skelton
authors.affiliation: University of Leeds School of Dentistry and Bradford Salaried Dental Service, Leeds and Bradford, UK.
authors.forename: Peter F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Day
authors.affiliation: Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, LIGHT, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Munyombwe
authors.affiliation: University of Leeds School of Dentistry and York and North Yorkshire Salaried Dental Services, Leeds and York, UK.
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Balmer
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000068216:Child Protective Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology