Safe haven – a trauma-informed care model for oral health practitioners: a commentary

There is a high prevalence of traumatic events in our society and the number of trauma sufferers in the general population is significant, with lasting adverse impacts on health, including oral health. Despite the high likelihood of oral health practitioners encountering patients with trauma, trauma history may not be disclosed or evident. In healthcare, trauma-informed care is a comprehensive and multi-level approach to patient care based on the understanding of the widespread nature and the impact of trauma. Trauma-informed care has not been widely implemented in oral health and multiple yet limited definitions of trauma could be further impeding implementation of trauma-informed care in oral health. To respond to these issues, we propose a definition of trauma in trauma-informed care which directly relates to the oral healthcare setting. We also propose a model - 'Safe haven - a trauma-informed care model for oral health practitioners' - which aims to encourage oral health practitioners to practise trauma-informed care as a universal precaution for all patients in everyday practice.