Ethical guidance
Standards for dental professionals is the Council's ethical guidance for registrants.
Standards for Dental Professionals sets out six key principles of ethical practice:
- Putting patients’ interest first and acting to protect them
This principle sets out dental professionals’ responsibility to protect patients by, for example, maintaining GDC registration, working only within the scope of their knowledge and keeping accurate patient records.
- Respecting patients’ dignity and choices
This principle sets out the importance of treating patients with dignity and respect, being non-discriminatory and recognising the patient’s responsibility for making decisions, giving them all the information they need to make decisions.
- Protecting patients’ confidential information
This principle sets out the need to treat information about patients as confidential, using it only for the purposes for which it was given. Dental professionals should also take steps to prevent accidental disclosure or unauthorised access to confidential information by keeping information secure at all times.
In some limited circumstances disclosure of confidential patient information without consent may be justified in the public interest (for example to assist in the prevention or detection of a serious crime) or may be required by law or by Court order. Dental professionals should seek appropriate advice before disclosing information on this basis.
- Co-operating with other members of the dental team and other healthcare colleagues in the interests of the patients
This principle states that dental professionals should work co-operatively with colleagues and respect their role in the care of patients. Dental professionals should also treat colleagues fairly and without discrimination and communicate effectively and share knowledge and skills as necessary, in the interest of the patient.
- Maintaining your professional knowledge and competence
Dental professionals should make sure that they keep their knowledge, skills and professional performance under continuous review and identify and understand their limitations as well strengths. Dental professionals should make themselves aware of best practice in the fields that they work and provide a good standard of care based on available contemporary evidence and authoritative guidance. They should also make themselves aware of laws and regulations, which affect their work, premises, equipment and businesses, and comply with them.
- Being trustworthy
Dental professionals should make sure that they justify the trust placed in them by their patients, the public and colleagues by acting honestly and fairly in all their professional and personal dealings.
Supporting guidance
Standards for Dental Professionals is supported by supplementary guidance on:
Standards for Dental Professionals is also supported by the following statements:
Principles of patient consent
It is a general legal and ethical principle that valid consent must be obtained 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.
Patients have a right to choose whether or not to accept a dental professional’s advice or treatment. This guidance expands on – and is limited to - the ethical principles of obtaining patient consent, which a dental professional should apply to their work. It cannot cover all situations.
We do not give legal advice. As Standards for Dental Professionals explains, dental professionals are responsible for making themselves aware of laws and regulations which affect their work, premises, equipment and business, and complying with them. If a dental professional has any doubts on the legal issues around obtaining patient consent, they should ask an appropriate source – for example, their dental defence organisation – for advice.
Principles of patient confidentiality
Dental professionals have a legal and ethical duty to keep patient information confidential. The supplementary guidance on confidentiality deals with the ethical issues of protecting the confidentiality of patients’ information.
This explains the responsibility of dental professionals to treat any information about patients as confidential and only use it in the context in which it was given. Confidential information should be kept in a secure place at all times to prevent unauthorised disclosure or accidental disclosure.
If exceptional circumstances arise in which a dental professionals feels that the disclosure of confidential information is necessary for the patient’s safety, the dental professional should seek appropriate advice before any action is taken.
Principles of dental team working
This guidance, which explains how the dental team should work together in the best interests of patients, has been published and came into effect in February 2006. We have sent all our registrants a copy of the guidance. New registrants will get a copy of all our standards guidance when they join our registers.
Principles of complaints handling
This guidance provides a checklist to assist dental professionals to make sure that they have an effective in-house complaints procedure where they work. It came into effect on 2 May 2006 and has been sent to all our registrants.
Principles of raising concerns
This guidance explains dental professionals' responsibility to raise matters of concern about colleagues, systems, and the working environment, and how to go about this. It came into effect on 2 May 2006 and has been sent to all our registrants.
Principles of management responsibility
One of the changes to the Dentists Act which came into force in July 2006 was to open up ‘the business of dentistry’ to dental care professionals as well as dentists. This means that all members of the registered dental team can now receive payment for dental treatment, own dental practices and dental laboratories and employ other members of the dental team.
Another of the changes to the Act was to remove the limit on the number of ‘dental bodies corporate’ (DBCs) which can exist, meaning that any dental practice or group of practices can now become a corporate body.
In the light of these changes, the Council felt that it would be helpful to give guidance to registrants about their responsibilities when acting in a business capacity. The principles apply to any registrant who has a management role, whether that is in a DBC, a Primary Care Trust, a practice, dental laboratory. It also applies to registrants who are responsible for conducting clinical trials and those working in educational institutions, such as universities.
This guidance document expands on how you should apply the principle ‘put patients’ interests first and act to protect them’ to your work in your management role. You should read it with the other guidance in the ‘Standards for dental professionals’ series.
To view further information on Dental Bodies Corporate please click here.
* As a result of the Council’s Scope of Practice consultation in early 2008, the Council has agreed that non-surgical cosmetic procedures outside the immediate mouth area are not dentistry. The Council will also be undertaking an impact assessment on whether surgical procedures away from the face, such as bone harvesting from the hip, should not be considered dentistry.