Oral health status of children and adolescents victims of abuse: a literature review

Abstract

Violence against minors can manifest in many forms and is considered a public health problem due to the physical and emotional consequences it produces. The dentist has a fundamental role in detecting victims of violence, as the face is often the most affected region. Objective: To review the national and international literature concerning injuries and most common oral conditions of children and adolescents victims of abuse. Literature review: The descriptors used were “child abuse”, “child violence”, “physical violence”, “psychological violence”, “dental caries”, and “oral health” for international databases and the corresponding terms in Portuguese for Brazilian databases, with no restriction of year of publication and language. Through the articles included in this review, it appears that children with maltreatment history presents not only high prevalence of head injuries and dental traumas, but may also have poor oral hygiene and low search for dental services and consequently higher rates of untreated caries compared with children who lived in contexts without violence. Conclusion: Although the literature suggested that children and adolescents who have suffered abuse may have worse oral health status than those who were not victims of violence, more studies are needed to understand whether there are actually significant differences in the prevalence trauma, soft tissue injuries, tooth decay, and periodontal disease among types of child abuse.