Child dental neglect and legal protections: a compendium of briefs from policy reviews in 26 countries and a special administrative region of China

Morẹ́nikẹ́ Oluwátóyìn Foláyan (Corresponding Author), Francisco Ramos-Gomez, Olawunmi Adedoyin Fatusi, Nouran Nabil, Germana V. Lyimo, Irene Kida Minja, Ray M. Masumo, Nadia Mohamed, Nicoline Potgieter, Cleopatra Matanhire, Pamela Maposa, Chiedza Runyararo Akino, Abiola Adeniyi, Simin Z. Mohebbi, Passent Ellakany, Jieyi Chen, Rosa Amalia, Alfredo Iandolo, Faizal C. Peedikayil, Athira AravindOla B. Al-Batayneh, Yousef S. Khader, Sadeq Ali Al-Maweri, Wael Sabbah, Roberto Ariel Abeldaño Zuñiga, Ana Vukovic, Julijana Jovanovic, Ro’aa Mohammed Jafar, Ilze Maldupa, Arheiam Arheiam, Fausto M. Mendes, Sergio E. Uribe, María del Carmen López Jordi, Rita S. Villena, Duangporn Duangthip, Nadia A. Sam-Agudu, Maha El Tantawi

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

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Abstract

Background: Child neglect is a public health, human rights, and social problem, with potentially devastating and costly consequences. The aim of this study was to: (1) summarize the oral health profile of children across the globe; (2) provide a brief overview of legal instruments that can offer children protection from dental neglect; and (3) discuss the effectiveness of these legal instruments. Methods: We summarized and highlighted the caries profile and status of implementation of legislation on child dental neglect for 26 countries representing the World Health Organization regions: five countries in Africa (Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Zimbabwe), eight in the Americas (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Unites States of America, Uruguay), six in the Eastern Mediterranean (Egypt, Iran, Libya, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia), four in Europe (Italy, Latvia, Serbia, United Kingdom), two in South-East Asia (India and Indonesia) and one country (China) with its special administrative region (Hong Kong) in the Western Pacific. Results: Twenty-five of the 26 countries have legal instruments to address child neglect. Only two (8.0%) of these 25 countries had specific legal instruments on child dental neglect. Although child neglect laws can be interpreted to establish a case of child dental neglect, the latter may be difficult to establish in countries where governments have not addressed barriers that limit children's access to oral healthcare. Where there are specific legal instruments to address child dental neglect, a supportive social ecosystem has also been built to facilitate children's access to oral healthcare. A supportive legal environment, however, does not seem to confer extra protection against risks for untreated dental caries. Conclusions: The institution of specific country-level legislation on child dental neglect may not significantly reduce the national prevalence of untreated caries in children. It, however, increases the prospect for building a social ecosystem that may reduce the risk of untreated caries at the individual level. Social ecosystems to mitigate child dental neglect can be built when there is specific legislation against child dental neglect. It may be more effective to combine public health and human rights-based approaches, inclusive of an efficient criminal justice system to deal with child dental neglect.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1211242
Number of pages21
JournalFrontiers in Oral Health
Volume4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords*

  • child abuse
  • human rights
  • legislation
  • oral health
  • public health

Field of Science*

  • 3.2 Clinical medicine

Publication Type*

  • 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database

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