Title : Ethical and legal considerations in the decision-making process for dental treatment Professional and market-born challenges
Abstract:
Dentistry is a profession based on a social contract that includes social, moral, and political aspects in addition to the duty to provide care for vulnerable individuals and meet their needs through ethical practices. The healthcare industry, including dental care, is constantly evolving with new products, techniques, technologies, and services. Dental treatments are now more preventive and less invasive, with the use of smart technology. This makes the occupation of dentistry easier, faster, better, and more enjoyable for patients. However, today the active participation of patients from the beginning of the treatment planning process to its successful completion is a “condition sine qua non”. This partnership requires consent based on the patient's understanding of the proposed treatment procedures and the dentist's knowledge of the market and moral limitations. Shared decision-making is an important factor that influences the choice of dental treatment by private general practitioners and prevents risks of litigation. The integration of evidence-based and ethical decision-making into dental education acquiring critical thinking and decision-making skills is also important. A comprehensive appraisal of the preference-match strategy in dentist-patient communication, which addresses the conflict between patients' interests and patients' rights could assist in avoiding overtreatment or neglect of a patient's need and thus adequately answer the professional and market-born challenges.
