Ethics for the Dental Professional

Ethics for the Dental Professional is organized by AchieveCE.

Course Description:
Movies like The Dentist, a 1996 horror movie in which a dentist played by actor Corbin Bernsen uses his influence and access to dental tools to torture those he's angry with seem like they shouldn't be a reality. Unfortunately, there continue to be reports of questionable behaviour by dentists ranging from those exposing immigrant children to potentially-unnecessary x-rays at the country's southern border to others who take advantage of their positions of power and prestige to obtain what they desire. What these cases -- both fictional and real -- illustrate is the importance of ethical behaviour within the dental profession.

As the medical community in general, dentistry practices continue to be a barometer for society at large when it comes to upholding, demonstrating and supporting those behaviours that hold others accountable. A crucial component of this obligation rests on ethics in dentistry. This course provides the information dental professionals -- including dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants -- need to understand the moral, ethical and legal effects of their behaviour. A thorough explanation of ethics, its principles and how they relate to dentistry, ethics theories, and applications to everyday practices are outlined and discussed.

This distinction helps lay the groundwork for understanding that ethics aren't imposed by the law of the land or even by a specific profession. Rather, they rely on an understood moral obligation. In other words, ethics is an unwritten conduct code that comprises both professional judgment and conduct. While each profession often has differing written ethical codes, the principles of ethics that underpin these codes are identical.

Today's dental professionals face complex ethical issues that were nearly unheard of or unthinkable just a few years ago. These issues also seem to arise more frequently for dentists today than they did in the recent past. It's also likely that patients are more aware than ever before of the implications on their medical professionals' behaviour and their own rights within those parameters. Regardless of the reasoning behind these ethical issues, the fact remains that the dental professionals of today must be knowledgeable and ever-vigilant about any potential issues.

Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course, you will be able to:
• Understand what "ethics in dentistry" means
• Comprehend "profession" as a term and its relationship to dentistry ethics
• Understand the principles and elements that provide the foundation for ethical decision making
• Articulate the differences between dental ethics and dental law
• Comprehend the ethics of financial arrangements, the delegation of duties, managed care, patient relations and substance abuse in dentistry
• Define ethics normative theories and implement them when the inevitable ethical issues arise in practice
• Understand and apply dental ethics and its principles to your everyday practice