Ethics and Ethical Standards for Dentists and Dental Professionals
Course Description
Ethics and Ethical Standards for Dentists and Dental Professionals (USA) is a CPD course designed to help dental professionals understand, apply, and evidence ethical practice in line with U.S. regulatory expectations.
The American Dental Association (ADA) Code of Ethics, state dental boards, and the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) all stress that ethical behaviour is central to patient trust, safety, and licensure. Dentistry brings unique ethical challenges: informed consent in procedures, management of pain and anxiety, advertising and commercial pressures, and maintaining probity in billing and treatment planning.
This course explores the four ethical principles — autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice — as applied to dental practice, alongside confidentiality, informed consent, probity, digital professionalism, and accountability. Learners will examine regulator expectations, case examples, and practical strategies to embed ethics into both daily dental practice and disciplinary processes.
Course Content
Course Objectives
Course Objectives
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Section 1: Introduction — Why Ethics Matters in U.S. Dentistry
1.1 The Role of Ethics in Dental Practice
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1.2 Why Regulators Prioritise Ethics
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1.3 Ethics and Professional Identity
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1.4 Consequences of Ethical Lapses
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1.5 Why Ethics Matters Now More Than Ever
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1.6 Reflective Quiz
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Section 2: Core Ethical Principles — Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-Maleficence, Justice
2.1 Autonomy — Respecting Patient Choice
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2.2 Beneficence — Acting in the Patient’s Best Interest
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2.3 Non-Maleficence — “Do No Harm”
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2.4 Justice — Fairness and Equality in Care
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2.5 Balancing Principles in Dental Practice
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2.6 Reflective Quiz
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Section 3: ADA Code of Ethics and ADHA Standards — Key Expectations
3.1 American Dental Association (ADA) Code of Ethics
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3.2 American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) Code of Ethics
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3.3 State Dental Boards and Enforcement of Ethical Codes
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3.4 Shared Ethical Expectations Across ADA and ADHA
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3.5 Reflective Quiz
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Section 4: Common Ethical Dilemmas in Dental Practice
4.1 Informed Consent vs Beneficence
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4.2 Confidentiality vs Duty to Report
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4.3 Overtreatment and Financial Incentives
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4.4 End-of-Life and Palliative Oral Care
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4.5 Conflicts of Personal Beliefs and Patient Rights
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4.6 Digital Professionalism and Social Media
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4.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 5: Confidentiality, Digital Professionalism, and HIPAA Compliance
5.1 The Ethical Duty of Confidentiality
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5.2 HIPAA Compliance in Dentistry
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5.3 Confidentiality in the Digital Era
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5.4 Digital Professionalism and Social Media
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5.5 Tele-Dentistry and Confidentiality
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5.6 Consequences of Breaches
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5.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 6: Probity, Honesty, and Accountability in Dentistry
6.1 Probity as a Core Ethical Duty
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6.2 Honesty in Treatment Planning and Communication
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6.3 Financial Integrity and Billing Practices
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6.4 Accountability in Daily Practice
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6.5 Consequences of Dishonesty or Lack of Probity
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6.6 Building a Culture of Accountability
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6.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 7: Weak vs Strong Ethical Responses — Case Comparisons
7.1 Overtreatment for Financial Gain
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7.2 Documentation Falsification
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7.3 Breach of Confidentiality
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7.4 Boundary Violation
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7.5 Disrespectful Communication
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7.6 Key Lessons Across Cases
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7.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 8: Demonstrating Ethics in Disciplinary and Remediation Processes
8.1 Why Ethical Demonstration Matters
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8.2 How Boards Assess Ethical Behaviour
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8.3 Weak vs Strong Demonstrations
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8.4 Evidence Regulators Find Persuasive
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