Thanks to donations from our amazing supporters, we’ve funded a study to improve access to dental services for adult survivors of child sex abuse (CSA).

CSA survivors have poorer oral health than the general population and face additional barriers accessing oral health care. It is estimated that there are 11 million adult survivors of child sex abuse. Given this prevalence health professionals are often unknowingly working in close contact with survivors of CSA.

The proximity and intimacy required in dental care alongside the differential in power dynamics between a dentist and patient can lead to potentially triggering unwanted memories or a traumatic response.

The study

The study goes above and beyond the curriculum requirements of teaching to arm students at Bristol Dental Hospital with better skills and to make dental services more inclusive and safe for all patients. The research team is made up of a CSA survivor, and an interdisciplinary team of dentist, psychologist, scientist, and sociologist from Bristol Dental School.

The research has the potential of making a significant impact to dental teaching and training and result in improved access to dental care for this underserved group.

The study was made up of nine online creative workshops:

• Autoethnography: Writing the stories of our mouths, a timeline
• Stigma: Art therapy to draw the “perfect patient”
• Power: Reviews of the dentist
• Models of health: Script writing on experiences of dental visits
• Co-production: What do we want as an output?
• Meet with the artist: Discussing ideas and sharing
• Review drafts: Review drafts from artists and choose a design
• Information sheet: Co-producing an inclusive information sheet
• Reviewing all outputs and planning next steps.

The findings

The findings of this phase will also form the basis of ongoing research bids to further this work to build a robust and well informed toolkit using a range of different mediums to allow dental professionals to build their knowledge of delivering trauma informed care and working with adult survivors of child sex abuse.

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Thanks to Bhagesh Sachania Photography for the photos.