Module A2 Ethics-FL Law

• Represent the profession by setting an example on how to attain and maintain oral health.
• Aid individuals and groups to strive toward reaching optimum oral health.
• Perform self-assessments of personal progress to attain goals of perfection for service.

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• The primary purpose of standards for clinical practice is to guide dental hygiene practitioners in the development of a clinical relationship with their patients.
• A secondary purpose is to educate the public, other healthcare providers, and policy makers about the profession of dental hygiene and the scope of dental hygiene practice.

• 1.Professional and patient
• 2.Professional and professional
• 3.Professional and society

We are obligated to practice our profession in a manner that supports our purpose, beliefs, and values in accordance with the fundamental principles that support our ethics.

“Core Values” are selected principles of ethical behavior that can be considered the heart of the code of a profession.

• 1.Autonomy
• 2.Confidentiality
• 3.Societal trust
• 4.Beneficence
• 5.Nonmaleficence
• 6.Justice and fairness
• 7.Veracity

• Autonomy is based on the principle of respect for human beings:
• 1.Individuals have the freedom to make their own judgments.
• 2.The role of the dental professional is to provide the patient with enough information about their oral health status and treatment options in order for the patient to make an informed decision.

Confidentiality is the avoidance of revealing any personal information about the patient

• The public acknowledges that a dental hygienist possesses specialized knowledge and skills.
• 1.It is our ethical duty to ensure that this trust is maintained.
• 2.Public trust in our profession is based on our actions and behavior.

• Nonmaleficence means to do no harm to others. Doing no harm is the most basic element in morality.
• A.The dental hygienist fundamental obligation is to provide services in a manner that protects all clients and minimizes harm to them and others involved in their treatment.

Degree of care an ordinary, reasonable, and prudent person would exercise in given circumstances.

Beneficence means the act of doing good. Doing what will benefit a person.

Patients should receive the same quality of care regardless of the socioeconomic status, ethnicity, education, or ability to pay.

Veracity is telling the truth.

• 1.To maintain competency.
• 2.To learn scientific advances from new research.
• 3.To provide evidence-based patient care.
• 4.To apply consistent ethical reasoning.
• 5.To ensure fulfillment of each patient’s rights.

A common problem wherein a solution is grounded in the governing practice act or recognized laws.

typically outlines what the patient can expect as a partner in his or her own health care.

• 1.The patient’s right to be informed and to accept or refuse treatment or participation in research.
• 2.The right to know alternative treatments. 3.Who is treating them.
• 4.Rules regulating charges and payments.

• Determined by members of the profession and not the court system.
• Standards of care based on the standard rules of practice determined by the Board of Dentistry.
• Standard of Care Includes:
• An act of omission
• Act of commission

Not doing something

Performing an act inappropriately

Failure to do what a reasonable and prudent person would ordinarily have done under the circumstances.

Is a relinquishment of all connection with the patient.

• Communication that injures an individual’s reputation.
• Libel – written defamation
• Slander – verbal defamation

Is the length of time an aggrieved person has to enter lawsuits against another for an alleged injury

Offenses for violating private or contractual rights

• Offenses against society.
• The individual is punished based on society’s rules and regulations.

• 1.Informed consent
• 2.Expressed Consent
• 3.Written Consent
• 4.Implied Consent

is defined as a person’s agreement to allow something to happen based on full disclosure of facts to make an intelligent decision.

Verbal agreement

Signed agreement

Neither verbal or written

• 1.Diagnosis or description of the problem.
• 2.Nature and predicted course of the condition, both written and without treatment.
• 3.Whether there is a need for certain procedures.

• Advantages & disadvantages
• Potential risks
• Cost
• Long-term effects of all treatment alternatives
• Estimated time for treatment and the expected effect on the patient’s job performance during treatment

• 1.Patient education – top priority
• 2.Oral prophylaxis – removing deposits and stains from the teeth.
• 3.Exposing, developing and mounting radiographs.
• 4.Fluoride treatments.

• 1.Taking impressions and pouring models.
• 2.Polishing amalgams.
• 3.Application of pit and fissure sealants.
• 4.Placing and removing temporary fillings.
• 5.Suture removal.
• 6.Application and removal of rubber dams.
• 7.Fabrication of space maintainers.
• 8.Fabrication of temporary crowns and bridges.
• 9.Placing and removing periodontal dressings.
• 10.Local anesthesia.
• 11.Nitrous oxide sedation.
• 12.Pack and carve restorations.
• 13.Extractions (foreign countries).

The legislative purpose for enacting this chapter is to ensure that every dentist or dental hygienist practicing in this state meets minimum requirements for safe practice without undue clinical interference by persons not licensed under this chapter.

• Students in Florida schools of dentistry and dental hygiene or dental assistant educational programs, while performing regularly assigned work under the curriculum of such schools.
• Instructors in Florida schools of dentistry or instructors in Florida schools of dental hygiene or dental assistant educational programs, while performing regularly assigned instructional duties under the curriculum of such schools.

• Domestic violence is family violence, or that which occurs in the home or within the family.
• It is the dental hygienist’s ethical and legal responsibility to recognize the signs of abuse and to report cases of abuse to the authorities in accordance with the regulations.

child abuse, spouse/partner and elderly abuse

• Any act that endangers or impairs a child’s physical or emotional health or development.
• Failure to report abuse can result in being prosecuted.

• Repeated injuries (multiple bruises), unusual sites for accidental bumps and bruises; inappropriate behavior by the child; neglected appearance; strict, overly critical parents; and extremely isolated families.Mouth – fracture teeth, jaw, missing teeth for no apparent reason, frenum attachment injuries.
• Document injuries.

By the 3rd Biennium for a licensed dental hygienist, the State of Florida requires dental hygienists to take a 2 hour course in domestic violence.

• Two hour course on medical errors
• Current CPR

• One hour course in HIV/AIDS
• Current CPR & Medical Errors

• 24 hours of approved CE within the two year licensure period
• Current CPR & Medical Errors

• Comprehensive
• Accurate
• Ongoing
• Ethical & legal
• Objective & factual

Evaluation of each intervention is recorded to show it as a completed or a continuing procedure.

• Every dentist shall maintain written dental records and medical history records which justify the course of treatment of the patient.
• The records shall include, but not be limited to, patient history, examination results, test results, and, if taken, X rays.

at least four (4) years from the date the patient was last examined or treated by the dentist.

All licensed Dental Hygienists in the state of Florida are required to notify the Board of Dentistry of an address change within 10 days following the change of address.

EBDH is a formalized approach to clinical care in which the best scientific evidence available is used to make decisions about the clinical interventions to optimize personal oral health.

• 1.to answer clinical questions quickly & efficiently.
• 2.to identify research-supported, best-practice interventions in the delivery of patient care.
• 3.to ensure application of the most up-to-date practice interventions in the delivery of patient care.

• Scientific evidence
• Patient preferences or values
• Clinical/patient circumstances.
• Clinician’s experience and judgment.

• Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis
• Random Controlled Studies (RCT)
• Cohort studies
• Case control studies
• Case report or case series
• Animal and In-vitro studies

• SR – evaluates all published material
• MA – combines the statistical data from various studies into one analysis

• A scientific experiment used to test the efficacy or effectiveness of healthcare services.
• Sealant and fluoride programs.

• study where the same subjects are followed over time.
• Dental Hygiene students

are used to describe and interpret conditions that already exist. This study compares someone with the disease with someone who does not.

a report on how someone's unique or complex condition responded to the preventative, diagnostic and therapeutic services rendered.

research not conducted on humans.