Rights from the start: the place of children's rights in clinical dentistry

In 1989, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child proclaimed children's rights, affording children and young people special protection and assistance. This has implications for many aspects of dentistry, including health service design, policy and research. It is less clear what a child rights-based approach looks like for our day-to-day clinical practice. This article sets out to question what it means to translate upholding children's rights into practical action in dentistry. It further issues the challenge that adults must know about children's rights and help children learn about them and suggests how dental teams could contribute to advancing this agenda. Key points The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that adults should know about children's rights and should help children learn about them. Children's rights are relevant to all aspects of the lives of children and young people, including their oral and dental health and health care, but have received limited attention and discussion in clinical dentistry. Dental teams should be encouraged to have conversations about children's rights to raise awareness and to explore the difference it makes when working with children.