Knowledge, Personal Views and Experiences of a Group of Dental Interns Toward Physical Child Abuse

Scientific background ( Statement of the problem) : Child abuse is a worldwide problem facing millions of children annually regardless their socio-economic level and culture, it affects the child's physical, mental health, well-being and development through his life (WHO, 2002). The World Health Organization stated that 23% of children worldwide were physically abused in 2014 (WHO, 2014). In Egypt, children face different types of abuse, the 2014 Demographic Health Survey (DHS) shows that 93% of children aged 1 to 14 years old have been exposed to violent disciplinary practices, including psychological aggression and/or physical punishment (UNICEF Egypt, 2014). Exclusively dentists are in strategic position to detect signs of child abuse as 50-70% of reported physical child abuse cases include head and neck trauma and 25% of physical abuse injuries occur in or around the mouth. In addition, dentists can notice the characteristic properties of the family because they have a continued relationship with pediatric patients and their families (Shannon et al., 2016). Rationale for carrying out this study As published data about Knowledge, personal views and experiences of dentists toward physical child abuse in Egypt is sparse. This study will be conducted to cover this point among a group of dental interns in Egypt and highlight their role in detecting and reporting physical child abuse cases. Benefits to the practitioners * Increase the awareness of pediatric dentists about child abuse and highlight their role in detecting and reporting physical abuse cases. * Knowledge about physical signs of abuse and how to act with these cases will give the dentists confidence in reporting decision. * Discovering the main causes of dentists' hesitation in reporting diagnosed physical child abuse. Benefits to the patient and population * As 50-70% of reported physical abuse cases occur in the head and neck area (Shannon et al., 2016), so the dentist may be the first person to