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2 — Principle: Nonmaleficence ("do no harm").
The dentist has a duty to refrain from
harming the patient.
This principle expresses the concept that professionals have a
duty to protect the patient from harm. Under this principle,
the dentist's primary obligations include keeping knowledge and
skills current, knowing one's own limitations and when to refer
to a specialist or other professional, and knowing when and under
what circumstances delegation of patient care to auxiliaries
is appropriate.
- Code of Professional Conduct
2. A. Education
2. B. Consultation And Referral
- Advisory Opinion
2. B. 1. Second Opinions
- 2. C. Use of Auxiliary Personnel
2. D. Personal Impairment
- Advisory Opinion
2. D. 1. Ability To Practice
- 2. E. Postexposure, Bloodborne Pathogens
2. F. Patient Abandonment
2. G. Personal Relationships with Patients
Code of Professional Conduct
2.A. Education. The privilege of dentists to be accorded professional status rests
primarily in the knowledge, skill and experience with which they
serve their patients and society. All dentists, therefore, have
the obligation of keeping their knowledge and skill current.
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2.B. Consultation
And Referral. Dentists shall be obliged to seek consultation, if possible, whenever
the welfare of patients will be safeguarded or advanced by utilizing
those who have special skills, knowledge, and experience. When
patients visit or are referred to specialists or consulting dentists
for consultation:
- The specialists or consulting dentists upon completion
of their care shall return the patient,
unless the patient expressly reveals
a different preference, to the
referring dentist, or, if none, to
the dentist of record for future
care.
- The specialists shall be obliged when there is no referring
dentist and upon a completion
of their treatment to inform patients
when there is a need for further
dental care.
Return to Top Advisory Opinion
2.B.1. Second
Opinions. A dentist who has
a patient referred by a third party*
for a "second opinion" regarding
a diagnosis or treatment plan recommended
by the patient's treating dentist
should render the requested second opinion
in accordance with this Code of Ethics.
In the interest of the patient being
afforded quality care, the dentist rendering the
second opinion should not have a
vested interest in the ensuing recommendation.
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2.C.
Use of Auxiliary Personnel. Dentists shall be obliged to protect the health of their patients
by only assigning to qualified auxiliaries those duties which
can be legally delegated. Dentists shall be further obliged to
prescribe and supervise the patient care provided by all auxiliary
personnel working under their direction.
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2.D. Personal
Impairment. It is unethical for a dentist to practice while abusing controlled
substances, alcohol or other chemical agents which impair the
ability to practice. All dentists have an ethical obligation
to urge chemically impaired colleagues to seek treatment. Dentists
with first-hand knowledge that a colleague is practicing dentistry
when so impaired have an ethical responsibility to report such
evidence to the professional assistance committee of a dental
society.
Return to Top Advisory Opinion
2.D.1. Ability
To Practice. A dentist who contracts any disease
or becomes impaired in any way that might endanger
patients or dental staff shall, with
consultation and advice from a qualified
physician or other authority, limit
the activities of practice to those areas
that do not endanger patients or dental staff. A dentist
who
has been advised to limit the activities
of his or her practice
should monitor the aforementioned
disease or impairment and make additional
limitations to the activities of
the dentist’s practice,
as indicated.
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2.E. Postexposure,
Bloodborne Pathogens. All dentists, regardless of their bloodborne pathogen status,
have an ethical obligation to immediately inform any patient
who may have been exposed to blood or other potentially infectious
material in the dental office of the need for post exposureevaluation
and follow-up and to immediately refer the patient to a qualified
health care practitioner who can provide postexposure services.
The dentist's ethical obligation in the event of an exposure
incident extends to providing information concerning the dentist's
own bloodborne pathogen status to the evaluating health care
practitioner, if the dentist is the source individual, and to
submitting to testing that will assist in the evaluation of the
patient. If a staff member or other third person is the source
individual, the dentist should encourage that person to cooperate
as needed for the patient's evaluation.
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2.F. Patient
Abandonment. Once a dentist has undertaken a course of treatment, the dentist
should not discontinue that treatment without giving the patient
adequate notice and the opportunity to obtain the services of
another dentist. Care should be taken that the patient's oral
health is not jeopardized in the process.
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2.G. Personal
Relationships with Patients. Dentists should avoid
interpersonal relationships that
could impair their professional judgment or risk the possibility
of exploiting the confidence placed
in them by a patient.
Return to Top *A third party is any party to a dental prepayment contract that
may collect premiums, assume financial risks, pay claims, and/or
provide administrative services
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