title: Orofacial injuries as markers for intimate partner violence.
abstract: Health care professionals have increasingly recognized that intimate partner violence (IPV) is a highly prevalent public health problem with devastating effects on individuals, families, and communities. However, there are no obvious clinical characteristics of IPV. Interventions may prevent future IPV-related injuries, but they cannot be initiated until the diagnosis is made. Because of the frequency of IPV-related orofacial injuries, oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMSs) may be the first and only health care providers to see these patients. Therefore, OMSs are in a pivotal position to diagnosis IPV-related injuries and expedite referral for interventional therapy. This article presents data that support the use of orofacial injuries as a prime predictor variable in identifying victims of IPV and provides: (1) an overview of the epidemiology of IPV-related orofacial injuries; (2) a discussion of the role of head, neck, and facial injuries as markers of IPV, and their role as a diagnostic tool to facilitate the early diagnosis and referral for management of IPV; (3) a list of the advantages and limitations of using orofacial injuries as indicators of IPV; and (4) future directions to improve efforts to educate OMSs in identifying patients who are at high risk for an IPV-related injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, 55 Fruit Street, Warren Building, Suite 1201, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Lhalpern1@partners.org <Lhalpern1@partners.org>
authors.forename: Leslie R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Halpern
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers; D002648:Child; D004498:Education, Dental, Continuing; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008446:Maxillofacial Injuries / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D015983:Selection Bias; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers