Eglė Bendoraitienė

Dr. Eglė Bendoraitienė


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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1 June 2026 in Dentistry Journal
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Julija NarbutaitėJulija Narbutaitė
Julija Narbutaitė
VBVilma Brukienė
Vilma Brukienė
EBEglė Bendoraitienė
Eglė Bendoraitienė
VAVilija Andruškevičienė
Vilija Andruškevičienė
AKAistė Kavaliauskienė
Aistė Kavaliauskienė
Apolinaras ZaborskisApolinaras Zaborskis
Apolinaras Zaborskis
Background/Objectives: Dentists, due to their close contact with patients, are in a unique position to recognize and report cases of child abuse and neglect. This study aimed to explore dentists’ knowledge and attitudes toward child abuse and neglect encountered in their professional practice. Methods: An anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted among 414 members of the Lithuanian Dental Chamber (general dentists, dental specialists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants) and 153 graduating dental students, yielding a total sample of 567 respondents. They reported knowledge and attitudes regarding reasons for child abuse within the family and barriers to referring suspected cases. The underlying structure of responses was examined using exploratory factor analysis, and differences in knowledge and attitudes across professional groups were tested using ANOVA. Results: Most respondents agreed that low family socioeconomic status (87.7%), child’s disability (65.3%), and medical conditions (53.2%) are the main reasons for child abuse. These and other reasons clustered into two factors: family social vulnerability, and child health-related vulnerability; however, professional specialization had only a very small effect on both factors (η2 = 0.013 and η2 = 0.017, respectively). The majority of respondents (75.6%) agreed that dentists should report cases of child abuse or violence against children in all circumstances. The barriers to reporting child abuse were fear of negative consequences, and professional uncertainty; professional specialization had a significant effect on both of these factors (η2 = 0.019, p = 0.027 and η2 = 0.037, p < 0.001, respectively). Dental specialists reported the highest levels of fear of negative consequences and professional uncertainty, whereas students reported the fewest difficulties in reporting. Dental specialists and students demonstrated the highest levels of knowledge, while dental hygienists demonstrated the lowest level of knowledge regarding child abuse (mean sum score of knowledge was 11.2 (SE 0.38) vs. 10.0 (SE 0.30), respectively, p = 0.014). Conclusions: Overall, Lithuanian dentists, including students, demonstrate moderate knowledge and attitude in recognizing cases of child abuse and neglect; however, differences across professional groups remain and should be addressed to ensure more effective child protection.