Does dental ethics change

Bismillah..

There can be a little doubt that some aspects of dental ethics have changed over the years. Until recently dentists had the right and the duty to decide how patients should be treated and there was no obligation to obtain the patient's informed consent. In contrast, the UK General Dental Council now advises dentist that : " It is a general legal and ethical principle that you must get valid consent before starting treatment or physical investigation, or providing personal care, for a patient. This principle reflects the right of patients to determine what happens to their own bodies and is a fundamental part of good practice. " Many individuals now consult the Internet and other sources of health information and are not prepared to accept the recommendations of dentists unless these are fully explained and justified. Although this insistence on informed decision making is far from universal, it does seem to be spreading and is symptomatic of a more general evolution in the patient-dentist relationship that gives rise to different ethical obligations for dentist than previously.

Until recently, dentist generally considered themselves accountable only to themselves, to their colleagues in the dental profession and, for religious believers, to god. Nowadays, they have additional accountabilities- to their patients, to third parties such as managed health care organisations, to dental licensing and regulatory authorities, and often to court of law. These different accountabilities can conflict with one another.

 Dental ethics has changed in other ways. Whereas until recently the sole responsibility of dentist was to their individual patients, nowadays it is generally agreed that dentist should also consider the needs of society for example, in allocating scarce health care resources. Moreover advances in dental science and technology raise new ethical issues that cannot be answered by traditional dental ethics. Health informatics and electronic patient records, changing patterns of practice and expensive new devise have great potential for benefiting patients but also potential for harm depending on how they are used. To help dentists decide whether and under what conditions they should utilise these resources, dental associations need to use different analytic methods than simply relying on existing codes of ethics.

Despite these obvious changes in dental ethics, there is widespread agreement among dentists that the fundamental values and ethical principles of dentistry do not, or at least should not change. Since it is inevitable that human beings will always be subject to oral disease, they will continue to have need of compassionate, competent and autonomous dentist to care for them.


Does Dental Ethics Differ from One Country to another?

Just as dental ethics can and does change over time, in response to developments in dental science and technology as well as in societal values, so does it vary from ome country to another depending on these same factors. On advertising for example, there is a significant difference of opinion among national dental associations. Some associations forbid it but others are neutral and still others it under certain conditions. Likewise, regarding access to oralhelath care, some national associations support the equality of all citizens whereas others are willing to tolerate great inequalitues. In some countries there is considerable interest in the ethical issues posed by advances dental technology whereas in countries that do not have access to such technology there ethical issues do not arise.

Dentist in some countries are confident that they will not be forced by their government to do anything unethical while in other countries it may be difficult for them to meet their ethical obligations, for example, to maintain the confidentiality of patients in the face of police or army requirements to report suspicious injuries; any such encouragement of dentist to act unethically shoul be matter of great concern. Although these differences may seem significant, similarities are far greater. Dentist throughout the world have much in common, and when they come together in organisations such as the FDI, they usually achieve agreement on controversial ethical issues, though this often requires lengthy debate. The fundamental values of dental ethics such as compassion, competence and autonomy, along with dentists' experience and skills in all aspects of dentistry, provide a sound basis for analysing ethicaliissues in dentistry and arriving at solutions that are in the best interest of individual patients and citizens and public health in general.