The dental profession has long subscribed to a body of ethical statements developed primarily for the benefit of the patient. As a member of the profession, a Fellow must recognize responsibility not only to patients but also to society, to other health professionals and to self. The following are not laws but standards of conduct which define the essentials of honorable behavior for a Fellow in the American College of Dentists.
The core values represent a guide for ethical behavior for Fellows of the ACD and are the foundation from which the principles are derived. The core values collectively reflect the character, charter, and mission of the ACD. The ACD identifies the following as core values (in alphabetical order):
Patients have the right to determine what should be done with their own bodies. Because patients are moral entities they are capable of autonomous decision-making. Respect for patient autonomy affirms this dynamic in the doctor-patient relationship and forms the foundation for informed consent, for protecting patient confidentiality, and for upholding veracity. The patient's right to self-determination is not, however, absolute. The dentist must also weigh benefits and harms and inform the patient of contemporary standards of oral health care.
Beneficence, often cited as a fundamental principle of ethics, is the obligation to benefit others or to seek their good. While balancing harms and benefits, the dentist seeks to minimize harms and maximize benefits for the patient. The dentist refrains from harming the patient by referring to those with specialized expertise when the dentist's own skills are insufficient.
Compassion requires caring and the ability to identify with the patient's overall well-being. Relieving pain and suffering is a common attribute of dental practice. Acts of kindness and a sympathetic ear for the patient are all qualities of a caring, compassionate dentist.
The competent dentist is able to diagnose and treat the patient's oral health needs and to refer when it is in the patient's best interest. Maintaining competence requires continual self-assessment about the outcome of patient care and involves a commitment to lifelong learning. Competence is the just expectation of the patient.
Integrity requires the dentist to behave with honor and decency. The dentist who practices with a sense of integrity affirms the core values and recognizes when words, actions or intentions are in conflict with one's values and conscience. Professional integrity commits the dentist to upholding the professions' Codes of Ethics and to safeguarding, influencing and promoting the highest professional standards.
Justice is often associated with fairness or giving to each his or her own due. Issues of fairness are pervasive in dental practice and range from elemental procedural issues such as who shall receive treatment first, to complex questions of who shall receive treatment at all. The just dentist must be aware of these complexities when balancing the distribution of benefits and burdens in practice.
Self-governance is a hallmark of a profession and dentistry will thrive as long as its members are committed to actively support and promote the profession and its service to the public. The commitment to promoting oral health initiatives and protecting the public requires that the profession work together for the collective best interest of society.
Dentists are challenged to practice within an increasingly complex cultural and ethnically diverse community. Conventional attitudes regarding pain, appropriate function, and esthetics may be confounded by these differences. Tolerance to diversity requires dentists to recognize that these differences exist and challenges dentists to understand how these differences may affect patient choices and treatment.
Veracity, often known as honesty or truth telling, is the bedrock of a trusting doctor-patient relationship. The dentist relies on the honesty of the patient to gather the facts necessary to form a proper diagnosis. The patient relies on the dentist to be truthful so that truly informed decision-making can occur. Honesty in dealing with the public, colleagues and self are equally important.
The central aspiration of the American College of Dentists is that all members practice their profession in an ethical manner. The American College of Dentists identifies the following as aspirational statements of the core values (in alphabetical order):
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