Dental Professionals Against Violence (DPAV)
“Abuse can take many forms and is not just about hitting and bruises – it can also be denying a child oral health care.” Cindy Wright, registered dental hygienist and DPAV trainer
Through a partnership with Blue Shield of California Foundation and Dental Benefit Provider, the CDA Foundation’s DPAV training program has begun to spawn a systemic change in how dental professionals view their role and responsibility in the fight against family violence and neglect. All training programs and print materials are designed to assist dental professionals and their teams to recognize and respond to child abuse/neglect, domestic/intimate partner violence, and elder abuse/neglect. To date, DPAV has educated more than 1500 dental providers and their staffs have been educated on how to recognize and respond to all forms of family violence.
The goal of Dental Professionals Against Violence is to raise the dental community’s awareness of family violence using the most current information regarding patient risk assessment, clinical signs and symptoms, and the dental professional’s legal obligation to identify suspected abuse. Dentists, registered dental hygienists, and registered dental assistants are mandated reporters in the state of California. The program includes definitive action steps for dental professionals to use in their practices and communities.
Dental Professionals Against Violence was awarded the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s Professional Health Organization Leadership Award at the 2004 National Conference on Health Care and Domestic Violence in Boston, MA.
If you are interested in learning more about DPAV please contact the DPAV Program Coordinator by telephone at 800.736.8702 ext. 4921.
Generous funding provided by:
Contribute to the Dental Professionals Against Violence Program.