Summary
The objective of this study was to determine the epidemiological profile of women victims of violence and characterize the injuries affecting their maxillofacial region. This was an analytic study using secondary data from 470 expert reports of domestic violence involving women, collected from January 2007 to December 2011 in the Department of Dentistry of the Institute of Legal Medicine in the city of Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil. The majority of the examined women were Afro-caucasian (72.6 %), single (74.9%), and with mean age of 30.4 years. The buccal (51 %) and orbital (8.8 %) regions were the most affected extraoral sites. As to the oral cavity, the most affected sites were teeth (50.8 %) and the lip mucosa (35 %). In most cases the lesions against women were associated with an aggressor having a close relationship with the victim. The most prevalent lesions were edema; fracture; tooth dislocation; and bruise. These findings can subsidize the development of policies to prevent violence against women, and for public safety.
KEY WORDS: domestic violence, violence against women, facial injuries, forensic dentistry.
How to cite this article
DA SILVA, E. N.; MATOS, F. R. R. O.; PIMENTA, R. M. C.; RODRIGUES, J. L. S. D.; MARQUES, J. A. M.; MUSSE, J. D. & PARANHOS, L. R. Epidemiological profile and characterization of oral and maxillofacial injuries in women victims of interpersonal violence. Int. J. Odontostomat., 10(1):11-16, 2016.
