Dental Ethics & LawMr. Caputo

Unit #1 Lesson #5

Today’s ClassDriving Question: What are the ethical and legal

principles the dental team must follow?

Learning Intentions: We will be able to identify the basic principles of

ethics.We will be able to explain the American Dental

Association’s Code of Ethics.

Anchor: How does a dental assistant establish patient trust within the dental office?

This UnitThis unit focuses on ethics and the law as they

pertain to the practice of dentistry. Ethical and legal principles are required to be maintained on a daily basis. This could be said for any profession, but in dentistry, as in other health care fields where a patient’s welfare is the primary concern, they become even more important. Dental jurisprudence, or the laws pertaining to the practice of dentistry and ethics, or the moral judgments and behaviors, are outlined in each state’s dental practice act. Laws that regulate the practice of dental assisting and dental hygiene are also included in each state’s dental practice act.

This LessonThis lesson focuses on ethical principles in dentistry.

Ethics is learned through various means, including personal values, education, religion, parents, and learning from others’ behavior. Ethics help guide the dental team in actions and decisions that affect patient care on a daily basis. The five basic ethical principles used to assist in making choices are autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, and veracity. The American Dental Association and the American Dental Assistants Association each provide guidelines for the ethical behaviors of the professions through their Principles of Ethics.

Ethical Behavior in the Field of Dentistry

Defined by American Dental Association’s Principle of Ethics

Basic principles include:Autonomy ("Self-Governance")Nonmaleficence ("Do No Harm")Beneficence ("Do Good")Justice ("Fairness")Veracity ("Truthfulness")

To view the ADAA Principlesof Ethics and Code of Conduct,click here or visit http://www.dentalassistant.org

Autonomy Patient’s rights for self-

determination and confidentiality

Obligates dental team to:appropriately address

patient requestsprotect patient

confidentialityinvolve patient in

treatment decisions

Nonmaleficence Means the dental team has a duty to protect patient

from harm

Dental team’s primary obligations include:having current skills and knowledgeknowing one’s own limitationsdelegating when necessary

To visit the American Society of Dental Ethics (ASDE), click here or go to http://www.dentalethics.com/

Beneficence Expresses concept that the dental team has a duty to

act for benefit of others

Primary obligation of dental team is to provide competent and timely care

Click here for a question to consider

Question to ConsiderWhat should a DA do if asked to perform functions that

are not stated in or are against the Code of Conduct?

Justice Dental team has a duty to be fair when dealing with

patients

Obligations include: treating people justlydelivering care without prejudice

To learn more about the ADA’s Code ofProfessional Conduct, click here or visit http://www.ada.org/prof/prac/law/code/principles.asp

Veracity Duty to communicate truthfully

Primary obligations of dental team include: respecting position of trust in dentist-patient relationshipcommunicating truthfully and without deceptionmaintaining intellectual integrity

To visit the International Dental Ethics and Law Society (IDEALS), click here or go to http://www.ideals.ac/

The Dental Assistant’s Professional Code of Ethics

Provided for by ADAA

Sets forth high standard of care to be given to patients

The Dental Assistant’s Professional Code of Ethics

The American Dental Assistants Association has a guide for the professional dental assistant in the form of the ADAA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct. It represents maintaining a high standard of care in service to the association and the public. The individual components can be found on the ADAA’s Internet site at www.dentalassistant.org. As a dental assistant, a high standard of care to dental patients is based both on the code of ethics set forth by the profession of dentistry as well as the laws that have been established to govern the profession.

ActivityGoal of the Activity: To emphasize ethics as a standard of

conduct.

Lesson Objective of the Activity: Identify the basic principles of ethics.

Materials Required for Activity 1: No materials are required.

Activity 1: Using the basic principles of ethics in health care as a guide, have each student adapt these principles and write their own Personal Code of Conduct as a dental assisting student. Students may use the ADA and ADAA websites as reference (www.ada.org and www.dentalassistant.org). Students should limit their document to five specific points.

Homework #2Create a chart on the 9 dental specialties