'Bridging the gap' - A survey of medical GPs' awareness of child dental neglect as a marker of potential systemic child neglect

Background: Higher levels of tooth decay are seen in abused and neglected children. The medical general practitioner (GP)/family doctor is often the first point of contact within the UK National Health Service (NHS). Aim: We aimed to assess in the absence of the dentist whether GPs are sufficiently trained to identify dental neglect (DN) as a marker of child neglect (CN). Design and setting: A structured survey was sent to all NHS GPs on the Isle of Wight, UK (n = 106). Method: This survey examined the level of awareness and perceptions of GPs regarding the importance of the provision of dental health care in the identification of DN and CN. The level of training GPs had received to identify dental pathology was also assessed. Results Fifty-five GPs completed the survey (52%). The majority of GPs had never liaised with a dentist and 50% of the GPs believed childhood immunisations were more important than registration with a dentist. Ninety-six percent of GPs had never received any formal dental training and some did not perceive dental health to be important. Only 5 GPs mentioned a link between a lack of dental registration and CN and no GPs worked at clinics where child dental registration status was recorded. Conclusion: In the absence of formal recording, follow up and compulsory attendance at the dentist, the timely detection of DN and potential CN may be impaired. This study demonstrates that medical GPs are ill-equipped to detect DN, a recognised marker of broader neglect and therefore may miss an important opportunity to detect CN and improve child health and welfare.