Narrator: This is Science Today. The American Dental Association has recently begun efforts to enact domestic violence educational programs for dentists. In a recent survey, Barbara Gerbert, a behavioral scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, found many dentists didn't screen for domestic violence, even when patients had visible signs of abuse. In a previous study, Gerbert found both the victims and their doctors tended to avoid the subject.

Gerbert: We found that there was this very intricate dance that both parties played a part in of approaching the topic or avoiding the topic and very seldom did a woman describe that they had been asked directly and answered directly.

Narrator: But Gerbert says validating or compassionate messages from an authority figure had a powerful effect over victims.

Gerbert: Asking women, identifying the abuse and validating the women and their worth can plant seeds for change and have an enormous impact in the long run.

Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.