Intervention Techniques for Dental Professionals

It is important to recognize that oral health care is invasive, and some people consider it to be fairly intimate in nature.²⁶ Because of this, seeing a dental professional can be triggering for a victim of abuse.²⁶ If you have an IPV victim in your chair, you can do the following to help foster rapport and make the dental appointment a better experience²⁶:

• Listen to the patient’s concerns with empathy

• The patient may need breaks or a slower pace. Please respect that.

• Use the“Tell-Show-Do” approach

• Use non-judgmental, clear language to explain your recommendations

One proven approach to having this conversation is known as “Ask, Validate, Document, and Refer/report if required by law” or AVDR.²⁶ The AVDR model provides a framework for dental professionals responding to any kind of family violence. It also helps ensure that victims are offered resources that may be needed as well as fulfill a dental professional’s legal and ethical obligations.

For a survivor of sexual assault or IPV, the dental office can be a really scary place and may trigger negative responses related to the underlying experiences of abuse. Dental professionals should be aware of these possible triggers and develop techniques to incorporate into their daily practice (as described in the next section explaining the AVDR method).