Introduction : Dental Ethics

By Dr. Haider Alwaeli

Introduction
Ethics: The rules or principles, which govern right conduct; the science of moral obligation; a system of moral principles; and the morality of one's conduct towards others Ethical Standards: Correlation of ethical standards with high social status Conduct: How to perform for reaction, under certain circumstances (way to express behavior) Declaration: Very strong statement (stronger than code)

What is Dental ethics?

Is an intrinsic component of dental practice

Everyday dentists are faced with situations that call for ethical judgment and behavior

Example Cases
Dr. Steven Gerrard has been in practice for 32 years, his older patients are quit happy from the services he provided and devotion, Jenifer Aniston 28 years female one of his patient clearly asked him for referral to orthodontist for correction of mild overbite, Dr. Gerrard refused to do that because he believed it is unnecessary

Example Cases
Dr. David Villa is a newly qualified endodontist, has just taken the practice of the only endodontist of a medium-sized community. During his first 3 months in practice he concerned about a significant number of patients referred by one of the general practice dentists show evidence of substandard treatment

What are these questions?

They are questions about values,

rights & responsibilities

Why Studying Ethics?

As long as the dentist knowledgeable & skillful ethics does not matter
Ethics is learned in the family , not in the dental school Ethics is learned by observing how senior dentists act, not through books or lectures Ethics is important , but our curriculum already crowded & no room for teaching ethics

Historical Background
Hippocratic Oath (5th Century BC) Declaration of Geneva International Code of Medical Ethics Declaration of Helsinki (1964) Federation Dentaire Internationale (FDI): International Principle of Ethics for the Dental Profession (1973)

Historical Background
Hippocratic Oath (5th Century BC) Declaration of Geneva International Code of Medical Ethics Declaration of Helsinki (1964) Federation Dentaire Internationale (FDI): International Principle of Ethics for the Dental Profession (1973)

Historical Background

Historical Background
Hippocratic Oath (5th Century BC) Declaration of Geneva International Code of Medical Ethics Declaration of Helsinki (1964) Federation Dentaire Internationale (FDI): International Principle of Ethics for the Dental Profession (1973)

Historical Background

Historical Background
Hippocratic Oath (5th Century BC) Declaration of Geneva International Code of Medical Ethics Declaration of Helsinki (1964) Federation Dentaire Internationale (FDI): International Principle of Ethics for the Dental Profession (1973)

International Code of Medical Ethics

Duties of doctors in general
Maintain high standards of professional conduct Practice uninfluenced by motives of profit Duties of doctors to the sick Obligation to preserve human life
Seek second opinions when necessary
Confidentiality Obligation to provide emergency care

International Code of Medical Ethics

Unethical practices Self advertisement beyond that authorized Working in other than one's field Fee-splitting

Intra-professional relations
A doctor should behave to colleagues as he would have
them to behave to him must not entice patients from his colleague Observation the principles of the Declaration of Geneva

Historical Background
Hippocratic Oath (5th Century BC) Declaration of Geneva International Code of Medical Ethics Declaration of Helsinki (1964) Federation Dentaire Internationale (FDI): International Principle of Ethics for the Dental Profession (1973)

Declaration of Helsinki (1964)

Recommendations guiding medical doctors to biomedical research involving human subjects

Adopted by the 18th World Medical Assembly, Helsinki, Finland, 1964 & as revised by the 29th World Medical Assembly, Tokyo, Japan, 1975

Historical Background
Hippocratic Oath (5th Century BC) Declaration of Geneva International Code of Medical Ethics Declaration of Helsinki (1964) Federation Dentaire Internationale (FDI): International Principle of Ethics for the Dental Profession (1973)

General Contents of Previous Documents

Doctor's obligation to patients Doctor's obligation to work for progress of science

Duties to community
Confidentiality Relations between colleagues of the medical profession

References
American Dental Association Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional conduct: January 2005. FDI World Dental Federation: Dental Ethics Manual: 2007.