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This paper argues that the trends in advertising and corporatization in dentistry since the 1970s have resulted in processes of de-professionalization and de-regulation, respectively.

Background: The increasing societal emphasis on physical appearance, particularly influenced by social media, has led to a significant rise in demand for aesthetic dentistry procedures. This study aims to explore the ethical dimensions of marketing practices and the phenomenon of overtreatment in cosmetic dental procedures, highlighting the implications for patient care and professional integrity. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted across four databases, yielding an initial 76 articles. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 articles were selected for analysis. The review focused on ethical considerations, marketing practices, and overtreatment in aesthetic dentistry, employing narrative synthesis to extract relevant data. Results: The findings indicate that social media is a primary driver of patient expectations, often prioritizing aesthetic outcomes over health considerations. This trend raises ethical concerns about informed consent and autonomy. The commodification of dental care, fueled by aggressive marketing strategies, has resulted in a notable increase in overtreatment, where unnecessary procedures are performed to satisfy commercial pressures and idealized beauty standards. The review highlights a lack of robust ethical guidelines governing marketing practices in aesthetic dentistry, exacerbating these issues. Conclusions: The study underscores the urgent need for clear ethical frameworks to guide dental practitioners in balancing patient welfare with business interests. Recommendations include the implementation of ethics education in dental curricula, the development of comprehensive ethical guidelines, and fostering open communication between practitioners and patients. These measures are essential for enhancing informed decision-making and ensure that patient care remains the priority in aesthetic dentistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental ethics mean the obligations and moral responsibilities towards the patients, professional peers, and society as large. In Orthodontic Clinical Practice all information should be given to the patients before orthodontic treatment like the risk and benefit of therapy and the treatment duration also all the patients have the right to choose and determine the type of orthodontic therapy by application of American dental association Principles of Ethics (ADA Code), all these elements involved under the term of orthodontic ethics .This review article elucidates the ethical dilemmas encountered by orthodontists in their regular clinical practice, with the aim of providing optimal treatment to their patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral healthcare is attracting much attention after decades of neglect from policymakers. Recent studies have shown a strong association between oral and overall health, which can lead to serious health problems. Availability of oral healthcare services is an essential part of ensuring universal healthcare coverage. More importantly, current gaps in its accessibility by minority or marginalized population groups are crucial public health as well as ethical concerns. One notable effort to address this issue comes from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), which offer oral healthcare services for non-insured refugees. However, the challenge remains that these care services are not comprehensive, which has implications for the refugees' oral and general health. In this article, we discuss this complex issue in the German healthcare context by including ethical reflections. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to discuss the ethical challenges related to oral healthcare services provided by NGOs for refugees in Germany. First, we will introduce the general oral healthcare context worldwide and in Germany. Second, we will provide a general description of the oral healthcare services provided by NGOs for refugees in Germany, as well as an overview of existing gaps. This will provide us with the context for our third and most important task—discussing the ethical implications of the gaps. In doing so, and since the ethical implications can be several, we demarcate the scope of our analysis by focusing on the specific ethical issues of justice, harm, and autonomy. Finally, we offer some recommendations for how to move forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The risk assessment of dental erosion among children and adolescents is an important aspect of dental care, as dental erosion constitutes a rapidly growing, global problem. Dental professionals rely solely on their own perception, as the current risk assessment process is not completely automatized, which affects the risk assessment reliability. Aim To explore dental professionals’ experiences with risk assessment of dental erosion among children and adolescents. Method In-depth interview was used as data collection method. A total of 11 dental professionals were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results The findings were summarized in the categories Professionals’ responsibility, Systematic approach , and Collaboration and communication. Dental staff perceived that their basic knowledge regarding erosion should be improved, and skills development was desired to reduce the knowledge gaps around the risk assessment of dental erosion. They alleged that the systematic approach could be improved by reducing workplace stress, implementing a universal dental erosion index, improving the existing risk assessment software, and automating the risk assessment of the condition. Dental professionals also experienced a need to calibrate and collaborate with each other and with other healthcare professionals to improve patient care. Conclusion Dental professionals experienced their basic knowledge of dental erosion and their risk assessment as good, but a more advanced skill development was required. Furthermore, they experienced the risk assessment software as a good tool that should be improved to compile more objective risk assessment. A universal erosion index was also requested.

Background: Lack of professional integrity among dental students can greatly impact the safety of future patients. Currently, there are no established learning outcomes for dental professionalism. Aim: The aim of the study is to assess the perceptions of Indian educators (DE) and residents (DR) towards the attributes and methods to learn/teach dental professionalism. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among Indian DE and DR from April 1, 2022, to July 31, 2022. A 31-item questionnaire was developed to evaluate the demographic data, perceptions of learning/teaching methods, and attributes of professionalism. The sample size was calculated to 446 subjects. Descriptive statistics were carried out. Results: Of the 428 participants, 287 were DE and 141 were DR. Most participants are aware of the attributes and have a positive attitude toward professionalism. Role modeling and mentoring were the most effective ways to learn professionalism. About 97.9% of DE and 97.9% of DR felt it was important to teach dental students about professionalism. About 85.7% of DE and 73% of DR felt the need for an additional program in the current BDS curriculum. Most participants selected contact with role model teachers, clinical experience with patients, and discussion with peers as methods by which they learned dental professionalism. Conclusion: The majority of the participants are aware and have a positive attitude toward dental professionalism.

Copyright of Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología is the property of Fundacion Salud, Ciencia y Tecnologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: "Ethics in dentistry" seems to be gaining importance as more and more dental institutions, professional associations and dental schools are addressing ethical issues. The aim of this paper is to highlight this ongoing development and to analyze and evaluate its relevance for future dentistry and the dental profession. Materials and methods: A qualitative analysis of literature and Internet sources served as the methodological basis. Recent trends were first illustrated using striking examples and then compared with the status quo in medicine and the medical profession, where ethics have a long professional tradition. It is discussed to what extent it seems worthwhile to transfer existing structures and initiatives in medicine to dentistry. Results: There is a broad variety of ethical announcements and initiatives in international dentistry (e.g., dental codes of ethics, adjustments to dental licensure regulations, professional publications, textbooks, awards, podcasts). It should be noted that ethical issues arise not only in life-threatening situations, but also in everyday dental practice. Existing ethical structures in medicine can be adapted or provide guidance for education, clinical practice and research. Conclusions: Teaching ethical competence in dental education, clinical practice and research can make an important contribution to the professionalization of dentists—quite similar to medicine. Furthermore, a broad integration of ethics in dentistry strengthens the public image of dentists. Clinical relevance: Dealing confidently with ethical issues is a key competence for successful work as a dentist—both in practice and in science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Scientific papers and books on digital dentistry are in vogue. In most cases, these publications focus clearly on the - undoubted - potentials and possibilities offered by digitalization. The fact that digital dentistry necessarily entails risks and ethical challenges, by contrast, is rarely discussed. This paper aims to complement the discourse on digitalization in dentistry by analyzing precisely these challenges. Method and materials: The study is based on an analysis of international publications and specialist writings on digitalization and its applications in the fields of dentistry and medicine, as well as on the analysis of specific contributions from the disciplines of medical ethics and medical law, and from the public media. Results: The paper identifies and discusses eight core challenges: (1) big data ("digital double" and falsification in den- tistry), (2) the dental practitioner-patient relationship, (3) digital literacy, (4) the assumption of responsibility in complex systems, (5) accompanying changes in the dental professions, (6) cost trap and risks of overtreatment in dentistry, (7) consumption spiral and ecologic footprint, and (8) clinical evidence in dental treatments. In addition, a catalog of criteria for assessing the effects of digitalization in dentistry is developed. Conclusion: It is crucial to closely monitor both the potentials and the challenges posed by digitalization in dentistry. Ultimately, it is only those problems that are identified as such that can be resolved and only those technologies that are accepted by dentists, patients, and society that will prevail in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional dental ethics for students are based on promoting oral health for dental patients and reinforcing an anthropocentric approach to communication and dental services. A total of 133 dental students (males 33.8% N1 = 46, females 66.2% N2 = 87) completed the study questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were applied, and non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis tests were used (p < 0.05). Students refuse services to patients that misbehave (37.6%), have irrational demands (18%), and when clinical cases exceed their capabilities (36.8%). Of the participants, 50.4% want to waive confidentiality when abuse is declared. Ethical role models are educators (33.8%), other qualified dentists (25.6%), and their parents (21.8%). Female gender positively affects integrity (p = 0.046), altruism (p = 0.032), and difficulty in conversations among colleagues (p = 0.036). Students outside the capital are less interested in esthetic issues (p = 0.007), in giving more than one treatment plan (p = 0.006), and in being confronted with inadequate treatments from other colleagues (p = 0.005). Family income positively affects clinical skills (p = 0.003), trust issues (p = 0.008), and moral insight and intuition (p = 0.02). Presentation with clinical scenarios is the preferred educational method (49.6%). Dental students show compassion for poor patients, respect patients' autonomy, and guide patients to choose the best treatment plan before receiving dental ethics seminars. There is a positive relationship between the ethical footprints of students and gender, origin, family income, postgraduate studies, and future professional plans. Factors and ways to incorporate ethics in the dental curriculum could be considered when planning relevant courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the impact of augmented intelligence (AI) technologies on dental practices. Topics discussed include the ethical implications of integrating AI in dentistry, the need for updated guidelines to navigate these technologies, and the potential benefits and challenges associated with AI adoption in dental care.

Introduction In this modern era, there has been mounting public concern regarding the ethical conduct of healthcare professionals. Dental ethics is a moral responsibility that incorporates professional conduct and judgment imposed by the members of dental profession. It is necessary for the dental students to become well equipped to resolve ethical dilemmas. The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge of dental students about professional ethics in dentistry.. Materials and Methods A questionnaire based cross-sectional study was conducted among 425 dental students in Ghaziabad. The knowledge of dental students about professional ethics in dentistry was assessed using Chi square analysis and p value =0.05 was considered statistically significant.. Results Out of 425 dental students, 401 completed the entire questionnaire. The response rate is 94.35%. Most of the dental students were aware about the Hippocratic Oath while only a minor percentage had knowledge about Nuremburg code, ICMR guidelines and Helsinki declaration. A higher percentage of dental students felt that knowledge of ethics is moderately important for them in their work but only a minor population attended training in ethics.. Conclusion Dental students in this study have less knowledge of healthcare ethics. This can result in the lack of their sensitivity to resolve the ethical dilemmas they encounter. Hence, it is essential to improve the knowledge and awareness regarding ethical aspects among dental students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental treatment is contraindicated by some health conditions. As patients live longer and dentists treat more patients with underlying disease, patients often need general medical care before dental care can proceed. For US patients without access to health care and their dentists, lack of medical-dental integration can generate inequity, poor outcomes, and ethical questions. Individual dentists should advocate for patients who need general health care prior to dental care, but the professions of dentistry and medicine must also respond to macro-level health system gaps and failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of our study was to analyze the content related to dentistry published on Instagram® and to investigate the students' profiles related to the use of social networks in a sample from a Dentistry School. Methods: This study was carried out in two stages. First, research was conducted to analyze content published on Instagram® related to dentistry. The second part investigated the profiles of students' from a dental school in relation to the use of social networks through a questionnaire. A descriptive analysis was performed and associations between the variables were tested using Fisher's exact test. Results: We found a diversified and large amount of content related to dentistry published on Instagram®, and publications that involved advertising were more prevalent in our study. There are also many publications that are violating the Code of Dental Ethics. In addition, in the second part of our study, we observed an enormous use of social networks by dental students (98.4%). Conclusions: As a result, we believe that it is important to update professionals about the ethical infractions related to social networks which could be approached during graduate courses in universities. Finally, the analyzed social network seems to be an interesting alternative for disseminating health information in order to dialogue with greater proximity to the large number of users who participate in it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dentistry increasingly integrates artificial intelligence (AI) to help improve the current state of clinical dental practice. However, this revolutionary technological field raises various complex ethical challenges. The objective of this systematic scoping review is to document the current uses of AI in dentistry and the ethical concerns or challenges they imply. Three health care databases (MEDLINE [PubMed], SciVerse Scopus, and Cochrane Library) and 2 computer science databases (ArXiv, IEEE Xplore) were searched. After identifying 1,553 records, the documents were filtered, and a full-text screening was performed. In total, 178 studies were retained and analyzed by 8 researchers specialized in dentistry, AI, and ethics. The team used Covidence for data extraction and Dedoose for the identification of ethics-related information. PRISMA guidelines were followed. Among the included studies, 130 (73.0%) studies were published after 2016, and 93 (52.2%) were published in journals specialized in computer sciences. The technologies used were neural learning techniques for 75 (42.1%), traditional learning techniques for 76 (42.7%), or a combination of several technologies for 20 (11.2%). Overall, 7 countries contributed to 109 (61.2%) studies. A total of 53 different applications of AI in dentistry were identified, involving most dental specialties. The use of initial data sets for internal validation was reported in 152 (85.4%) studies. Forty-five ethical issues (related to the use AI in dentistry) were reported in 22 (12.4%) studies around 6 principles: prudence (10 times), equity (8), privacy (8), responsibility (6), democratic participation (4), and solidarity (4). The ratio of studies mentioning AI-related ethical issues has remained similar in the past years, showing that there is no increasing interest in the field of dentistry on this topic. This study confirms the growing presence of AI in dentistry and highlights a current lack of information on the ethical challenges surrounding its use. In addition, the scarcity of studies sharing their code could prevent future replications. The authors formulate recommendations to contribute to a more responsible use of AI technologies in dentistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethics is the understanding and the ability to differentiate right from wrong in human behavior. Dental ethics denotes moral duties and obligations of a dental practitioner towards their patients, fellow colleagues, and the society at large. An ethical practice among dentists ensure good patient care in concurrence with their treatment needs. Ethical principles and codes introduced by regulatory bodies benefit the patient, avoid harm, and respect patient's preferences. Ethical dilemmas are faced by orthodontists during orthodontic interventions, even though important human values may be at stake during the course of treatment. The code of ethics in dentistry warrants an orthodontist to act in the best interest of their patients regardless of their financial status, even putting themselves at jeopardy if need be. This article thus focuses on the morals and ethics that should be abided by an orthodontist in order to deliver the best possible care to their patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The treatment planning process is a continuing source of problems associated with current practices in dentistry; it is difficult to teach well and deals with a wide range of ethical principles and behaviors that are critical to the maintenance of the profession and to successful practice today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: What can the analysis of the evolution of a code of ethics tell us about the dental profession and the association that develops it? The establishment of codes of ethics are foundational events in the social history of a profession. Within these documents it is possible to find statements of values and culture that serve a variety of purposes. Codes of ethics in dentistry have not frequently presented as the subjects of analyses despite containing rich information about the priorities and anxieties within the profession's membership at the time that the code was written.Main Text: This essay uses critical discourse analysis to explore the 2012 and 2018 versions of the Code of Ethics produced by the New South Wales Branch of the Australian Dental Association. This method of discourse analysis examines contradictions between the discourses within the codes and how these relate to broader social realties that surround the dental profession in New South Wales. By analysing the 2012 and 2018 codes together, it is possible to understand how the dental profession views its commitments to society as established through the social contract. Through this assessment, it will be demonstrated that both codes suffer due to their failure to consider the public as a key stakeholder in the creation and curation of the Code of Ethics and how this this relates intimately with the social contract between the profession and the public.Conclusion: Without the public being the central consideration, both codes amount to declarations of professional privilege and dominance. Although the more recent 2018 Code of Ethics demonstrates insight into the changes in public trust placed in the professions, this analysis shows that that the current code of ethics is still reluctant to recognise and engage with the public as an equal stakeholder in the planning and provision of oral health care and the development of the profession's values and cultural trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been declared as a pandemic disease by the World Health Organization on 11th March, 2020. Various information has been shared from many sources regarding the protection of individuals at risk, especially health care workers after appearence of cases in Turkey, Dentists constitute a high risk group due to the fact that the social distance required for prevention cannot be achieved and because of the transmission probability of the SARS-CoV-2 responsible for COVID-19 through aerosols and droplets during clinical procedures. In this review, the risks of transmission of COVID-19 in dentistry, general principles of prevention, the limits of emergency treatment other than elective treatments, and financial and ethical issues related to the subject in dental hospitals and clinics are discussed in the light of current literature and some suggestions are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the separation of medicine and dentistry in the U.S. with inequity along the medical-dental divide and continues to have lasting and meaningful impact on the lived experiences of millions of Americans from at-risk communities served by the medical system.

Aim: This exploratory qualitative research is an attempt to assess the health care ethical challenges in dental practice in an Indian scenario. Methodology: Qualitative indepth interview was conducted on 20 dental professionals to assess the ethical challenges prevailing in dental practice in Indian scenario. After obtaining the responses the verbatims were categorized into categories and finally 36 themes emerged. Later from two group of 6 panellists each after conducting focus group discussion the themes of ethical issues occurring in dental practice were ranked based on order of significance impact on the practice, patient and society using Delphi method. Result: The top ten ethical challenges listed by the panellists are inadequate sterilization and waste management in dental clinics, poor knowledge and attitude towards ethics among our dental practitioners, in competence among dental professional, increase in cost of oral health service, poor informed consent process, requirement of consensus about the treatment procedures among dentists, Conflict in Advertising, clustering of dental clinics in urban areas, disagreement with treatment modalities among dentist and patient, poor medical record maintenance among our dental practitioners. Conclusion: The study attempts to bring the prevailing ethical challenges in oral health care practice in Indian scenario.

The article explores the concept of quality oral health care and the various factors that contribute to it, including the principles of biomedical ethics, evidence-based dentistry, and patient-centered care. It emphasizes the importance of balancing these principles to deliver the right care to patients, acknowledging the challenges of making clinical decisions in the face of imperfect information and ethical dilemmas.

The article focuses on the ethics in dentistry. It notes that the dentist-patient relationship has been based mainly on the options given to the patients by the dentists relative to the procedures to be done since the fact that many dental procedures are elective. It mentions that despite the choices presented before the patients, often the options are being denied from the patients as dentists patronize the decisions to which the denial causes the patients the notion that their rights have been violated by their dentist.

Background. The authors evaluated instructions for author norms among existing dental journals and analyzed whether these journals address the practice of reporting guidelines and ethics policies. Methods. The authors evaluated 87 journals indexed in Journal Citation Reports (Thomson Reuters). The authors extracted information regarding the journals from the Journal Citation Reports database and from the instructions for authors of each journal. The authors conducted bivariate analysis to compare the methodological policy issues of journals with higher and those with lower impact factors (≥ 1.452 and ≤ 1.436, respectively). Results. Among journals, 44 (50.6%) required the use of Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials, 22 (25.3%) Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, 21 (24.1%) Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments, 17 (19.5%) STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational Studies in Epidemiology, 6 (6.9%) Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies, 3 (3.4%) Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology, and 1 (1.1%) Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials. No journals required STrengthening the REporting of Genetic Association Studies. Journals with higher impact factors had more instructions related to the peer review process (P = .027), redundant publication (P < .001), authorship policy (P = .024), contributorship policy (P < .001), ethical conduct of biomedical research with human participants (P = .021), ethical conduct of biomedical research with nonhuman participants (P = .001), registration of clinical trials (P = .004), and conflicts involving editors as authors in their own journals (P < .001) than did journals with lower impact factors. The submission of clinical case studies was significantly more prevalent in journals with lower impact factors (P = .008). Conclusions. Journals with higher impact factors have more rules regarding publication policies. Practical Implications. Journals with higher impact factors are stricter regarding publication policies than are journals with lower impact factors. Authors should be careful with the instructions for authors and plan studies with high methodological quality to publish their studies in a scientific journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise and persistence of a commercial model of healthcare and the potential shift towards the commodification of dental services, provided to consumers, should provoke thought about the nature and purpose of dentistry and whether this paradigm is cause for concern. Within this article, whether dentistry is a commodity and the legitimacy of dentistry as a business is explored and assessed. Dentistry is perceived to be a commodity, dependent upon the context of how services are to be provided and the interpretation of the patient-professional relationship. Commercially-focused practices threaten the fiduciary nature of the interaction between consumer and provider. The solution to managing commercial elements within dentistry is not through rejection of the new paradigm of the consumer of dental services, but in the rejection of competitive practices, coercive advertising and the erosion of professional values and duty. Consumerism may bring empowerment to those accessing dental services. However, if the patient-practitioner relationship is reduced to a mere transaction in the name of enhanced consumer participation, this empowerment is but a myth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Whistle-blowers' are a necessary part of any system; dentistry is no different. The role of whistle-blowers in dentistry has been enshrined in Australian law since 2010. Raising concerns has become a legal duty as well as an ethical and professional obligation. It is important that these different aspects of raising concerns are explored as each adds another layer of consideration to the issue. The health professional's duty to whistle-blow could be viewed as problematic; the observance of this duty is associated with being 'trapped between a rock and a hard place' where any decision to engage or not may have negative consequences. For the obligation of raising concerns to gain acceptability within the dental profession, the concept requires reframing as being necessary for the profession's continued success. The stigma of mandatory reporting needs to be removed to allow this essential process to occur. This article will discuss the ethical, professional and legal imperatives for the dental profession to engage with whistle-blowing and the likely challenges that are likely to be met in doing so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study aimed to assess the moral skills of Iranian general dentists. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed on 384 general dentists selected in national congresses, in 2016. Volunteers were asked to fill out the moral skills inventory with four domains of integrity, courage, reasoning and sensitivity. Demographic factors were also assessed and their correlation with moral skills was evaluated using the backward linear regression model. Results The mean acquired score of sensitivity, reasoning, integrity and courage score was 2.96, 5.71, 4.11 and 4.50 out of 8, respectively and the mean percentage of total moral skills of dentists was 54%. Males and females were not significantly different in terms of scores acquired in the four domains (P > 0.05). The scores obtained in the four moral domains were higher in younger graduates (by increase in the graduation year) (P = 0.02). A significant inverse correlation was found between moral integrity and reasoning with father's level of education (P < 0.05). The correlation between moral sensitivity and mother's level of education did not reach statistical significance (P > 0.05). Conclusion The mean percentage of moral skills of Iranian dentists was moderate. Thus, especial emphasis should be placed on moral skills particularly moral sensitivity in medical ethics educational programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on ethical considerations of the social media platform being in the world of modern dentistry. Topics include TikTok creating short videos appealing to a larger patient population, building the practice bases, and educating patients; and developing long before the advent of TikTok and other social media applications.

Copyright of Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Bioethica (2011) is the property of Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article reviews some of the merging ethical issues in restorative dentistry. This is a branch of healthcare concerned with quality of life, since retention of functioning teeth is important in allowing a healthy diet to be consumed. Yet the supply of dentists is such that, in many of the world’s poorest countries, extraction is the only viable option for treating tooth decay. Available repair materials present various ethical problems. Silver amalgam is being phased out in much of the world, because of environmental concerns with mercury, yet it is cheap and reliable. Alternatives have been developed, influenced by the West’s preoccupation with appearance, yet these materials are difficult to place and are less durable than amalgam. These concerns lead to significant ethical problems, which are explored in this article. It concludes by proposing a way to deal with the emerging ethical problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses America's informed consent legal doctrine in relation to patients' rights and the legal aspects of dentistry in the U.S. as of 2017, and it mentions how World War II atrocities involving medical experimentation on Jews have influenced informed consent laws in places such as America. Several informed consent legal cases in the U.S. are assessed, including Schloendorff v. Society of New York Hospital and Canterbury v. Spence

Introduction: Dentistry, being one of the healing professions, has an obligation to society that its members will stick on to high ethical standards of conduct. In India, studies done to assess whether the dental practitioners adhere to ethics in their line of work are very meager. Aim: The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge and practice of ethics in their line of work among practicing dentists from various dental colleges in Bangalore, India. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 258 practicing dentists attached to various dental colleges in Bangalore city of Karnataka, India. Independent sample t-test was used to compare the knowledge and practice scores according to gender and qualification. One way ANOVA was used to compare knowledge and practice score according to practice type and practice period. Results: Mean knowledge score among males is 8.9 as compared to 9.43 among females and mean practice scores among males was 8.25 as compared to 8.29 in females. Statistically significant differences were found in the mean knowledge and practice scores among graduate dentists and specialists. Mean knowledge score among graduate dentists was 8.44 as compared to 9.36 among specialists and mean practice scores among graduate dentists was 7.7 as compared to 8.53 in specialists. Conclusion: A significant association between the knowledge and practice scores was observed, implying that with an increase in knowledge, there was also an increase in the practices of ethics among study population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health professional-patient relationship requires a series of conditions for which the care service can be provided with safety, beneiting at the most the subjects involved. One of these conditions is related to some duties of health professionals with the patients: respect to autonomy, to privacy and the conidentiality of the information obtained. These duties can be compromised when health professionals develop as practice the publication of patient images in social networks. The objective of this work was to analyze under a legal and ethical perspective the images of the social network virtual known by Instagram where odontological patients appear using keywords that recover images associated to the various specialized dental services. By means of the content analysis, it was identiied that dental surgeons have published images of patients which in this study were classiied into ive categories: procedure; before and after; clinical case; posturing with patient; complementary exams and suchlike. 123 images were evaluated being the most responsible for publications proiles of dental surgeons (46.4%) and of dental students (28.5%). The publication of patients images in social networks is contraindicated by arguments substantiated in legal and ethical perspective, and may even bring to health professionals problems of administrative orders, civil and criminal matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ADA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct is an expression of the obligation occurring between the profession and society to meet the oral health needs of the public. At a time of economic concerns for the profession, suggestions are made to bring together the ethics of the profession and the need to expand services to underserved populations, including individuals with disabilities and the poor. The profession's effort to secure economic support for such an effort is possible with increased legislative awareness of the magnitude of the problem. To this end, the number of individuals with disabilities was developed for each Congressional district in New York State in an effort to challenge members of Congress to recognize the need in terms of their constituents, rather than in terms of the tens of millions with disabilities in the United States-which become "just numbers," not actual people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American College of Dentists is embarking on a multiyear project to improve ethics in dentistry. Early indications are that the focus will be on actual moral behavior rather than theory, that we will include organizations as ethical units, and that we will focus on building moral leadership. There is little evidence that the "telling individuals how to behave" approach to ethics is having the hoped-for effect. As a profession, dentistry is based on shared trust. The public level of trust in practitioners is acceptable, but could be improved, and will need to be strengthened to reduce the risk of increasing regulation. While feedback from the way dentists and patients view ethics is generally reassuring, dentists are often at odds with patients and their colleagues over how the profesion manages itself. Individuals are an inconsistent mix of good and bad behavior, and it may be more helpful to make small improvements in the habits of all dentists than to try to take a few certifiably dishonest ones off the street. A computer simulation model of dentistry as a moral community suggests that the profession will always have the proportion of bad actors it will tolerate, that moral leadership is a difficult posture to maintain, that massive interventions to correct imbalances through education or other means will be wasted unless the system as a whole is modified, and that most dentists see no compelling benefit in changing the ethical climate of the profession because they are doing just fine. Considering organiza-tions as loci of moral behavior reveals questionable practices that otherwise remain undetected, including moral distress, fragmentation, fictitious dentists, moral fading, decoupling, responsibility shifting, and moral priming. What is most needed is not phillosophy or principles, but moral leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dentistry is not a precise discipline in the way that mathematics and physics are. It is evidence based and has many universal principles that are valid most of the time, but every patient is diverse and what is an effective treatment for 90% of the inhabitants may not work for the other 10%. Thus, dentistry is characteristically trial. A large component of philosophy consists of various approaches to the concept and implications of ethics. Ideally, all aspects of dental practice should be validated by research. Materials such as dental amalgams and pharmaceutical products such as anesthetics do require evidence for their safety and efficacy before they are given governmental approval for their distribution and use. Thus, a basic familiarity with research methods is essential for competent dental practice. This article reviews the philosophy of ethics, ethical research and ethical principles that the dental surgeon should follow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]