Child and dentist brushing teeth
child protection and the dental team
Introduction - why you need to know Abuse and Neglect - what you need to know Child Protection - responding Safeguarding children - in dental practice
Assessing the childWhat to do if you are worried about a childWhat happens next?Information sharing and confidentialityEthical guidanceConsentForensic aspects of child protection practiceManaging dental neglectSummary flow chartReturn to homepageGlossaryReferencesFinding your local contactsFurther informationFurther trainingDownloads Information sharing and confidentiality

Whenever a child in this country dies as a result of abuse, local agencies are required to undertake a serious case review to look at the case and any lessons that might be learned from it. One consistent theme comes out in all these case reviews; a failure of communication between professionals involved with the child. If we are ever going to protect children from abuse, it is crucial that we learn to communicate with each other and share information.

As a dental practitioner seeing a child, you will have information about the child that no other professional will have. You have a responsibility to share that information appropriately. Where you have identified concerns, you should highlight those to the social worker to whom you are referring the child, backing those concerns up in writing. In other situations you may be asked to provide information for the purposes of an initial assessment or as a contribution to a case conference.
Ethical guidance

Practitioners are often anxious about the legal or ethical restrictions on sharing information, particularly with other agencies. You should be aware of the law and should comply with the principles of current ethical guidance for the dental team.2 These do not provide an absolute barrier to information sharing. However, the amount of information shared should be proportionate to your level of concern about the child. You should be prepared to exercise your judgment. A failure to pass on information that might prevent a tragedy could expose you to criticism in the same way as an unjustified disclosure.
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