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Domestic ViolenceThe Role of the Dental Professional inIdentification and Referral of Victims ofDomestic ViolenceMaureen McAndrew, D.D.S., M.S.Ed.; Maria Z. Marin, D.D.S.AbstractDental professionals can play an important role inidentifying and referring victims of domestic violence.Since most of the injuries sustained by victims occurin the head and neck region, dentists are uniquely positionedto help address this enormous public healthissue. Unfortunately, dentists are the least likely ofall health professionals to identify and refer victimsof abuse. Much of this failure may be attributed to alack of knowledge. This article provides an overviewof the types and indicators of abuse, informationabout screening and interviewing victims, and referralresources.Domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence, is aproblem of epidemic proportions affecting primarily women regardlessof age, race, socio-economic status, sexual orientationor educational background. According to statistics from the NationalCoalition Against Domestic Violence, one in four womenwill experience domestic violence in her lifetime. 1 To put thesealarming statistics into perspective, a woman’s risk of experiencingdomestic violence is more than double her lifetime risk ofbeing diagnosed with breast cancer. 2 The purpose of article isto provide an overview of domestic violence, discuss types andindicators of abuse, and to familiarize dental professionals withscreening methods and procedures used to interview and refervictims for assistance.Healthy People 2010, a prevention agenda promoted by theU.S. Department of Health and Human Services, linked domesticviolence to eight of the nation’s 10 leading health indicators. Inrecent years, domestic violence has emerged as a significant riskfactor for many chronic health problems, including obesity, substanceabuse, mental disorders and gastrointestinal problems. 3While the overwhelming majority of victims are women, it is importantto note that domestic violence can also affect men inboth heterosexual and same-sex relationships. When victims areidentified and referred to appropriate resources, they can receivenecessary care and counseling, thereby affording protection fromfurther violence, disease, even death, and helping to break thecycle of violence from harming future generations.Up to 95% of all domestic violence injuries occur in thehead and neck area, making dentists uniquely qualified to identifyvictims. 4 Many victims will visit different physicians andemergency rooms to avoid detection of abuse, but they will routinelysee the same dentist. Moreover, two-thirds of all adultsregularly schedule at least one dental visit each year. As such,they are more likely to see a dentist than a physician in anygiven year. 5 Despite these obvious advantages, dentists are theleast likely of all health care professionals to recognize and reportinstances of domestic violence. 6 A recent survey of victimsfound over half of them had seen a dentist when signs of abuse16 January 2012 • The New York State Dental Journal