A female patient comes for a filling. At the next appointment, she has bruises on her eye and lip. What should the dentist do?

Correct answer: D. Tell the assistant to ask what happened

• A. Incorrect. Ignoring signs of potential domestic violence violates the dentist's ethical and legal duty of care.
• B. Incorrect. Delegating the inquiry to staff is inappropriate; the dentist must address this directly.
• C. Incorrect. Mandatory reporting for adult domestic violence varies by jurisdiction; the first step is direct inquiry and documentation.
• D. Correct. The dentist should ask the patient privately and non-judgmentally about the injuries, then thoroughly document findings in the patient record. This is the proper protocol for suspected domestic violence.

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