GSDM becomes first dental school to offer One Love Foundation workshop on identifying, avoiding unhealthy relationships
The Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine became the first dental school in the country to offer programming to its students from the One Love Foundation, which educates young people about health and unhealthy relationships.
The One Love Foundation, which also empowers young people to identify and avoid abuse, was founded by the family of Yeardley Love, a 22-year-old college student who was killed by her ex-boyfriend. Representatives from the Foundation taught workshops at GSDM in August and October.
“If you think this doesn’t happen in Massachusetts—in Boston, at Boston University, or at GSDM—you are sadly mistaken,” Dr. Joseph Calabrese, associate dean of students, said during the workshop on October 1.
“By making this a public conversation, we hope to empower our students and help them understand and identify warning signals,” he said.
The August workshop was attended by incoming students from the Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) Class of 2023 and the DMD Advanced Standing (DMD AS) Class of 2021 as part of their two-week orientation, while the workshop in October was presented to members of the DMD Class of 2022.
During both workshops, One Love Foundation engagement coordinators discussed the signs of a healthy and unhealthy relationships with students, before showing a short film. The video, which follows a couple through the span of a relationship and displays several unhealthy or dangerous behaviors, employs the use of social media to demonstrate to participants that things are not always what they appear to be online. After viewing the film, students discussed the events it depicted, and how they related to healthy or unhealthy behaviors.
According to One Love engagement coordinator Anneke Reich, GSDM students benefited from the training in two ways: as individuals who engage in relationships, but also as dental professionals who see patients.
According to a 2009 article in the Journal of Dental Education, a national survey sent to domestic violence shelters found that 76 percent of respondents had suffered physical abuse in the head and neck area. In a second survey, 87 percent of dentists responded that they have never screened patients about domestic violence.
“It is extremely important that our students are informed about relationship violence, both as individuals and as oral healthcare providers,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “I am proud that the Office of Student Affairs was able to bring this programming to GSDM, and am so pleased we will continue to offer it to future classes.”
Student Affairs plans to hold the workshop annually as a part of orientation.