Citation

Thompson LA, Tavares M, Ferguson-Young D, Ogle O, Halpern LR. Dent. Clin. North Am. 2013; 57(2): 281-299.

Affiliation

Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, 188 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: lisa_thompson@hsdm.harvard.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.cden.2013.01.003

PMID

23570806

Abstract

Violence and abuse (V/A) is recognized as a significant public health problem, especially in females. Injuries to the head, neck, and/or mouth are clearly visible to the dental team during examination. This article provides compelling evidence that supports the pivotal position occupied by oral health care professionals within the arena of detection, intervention, and prevention of V/A. This article reviews the epidemiology of orofacial risk factors for V/A, diagnostic tools and surveys for identifying victims of all ages, and suggests interdisciplinary educational curricula/specific algorithms to provide the necessary core competencies for identifying victims in the oral health care environment.

Language: en