1. Mr. Caputo Unit #1 Lesson #5
Dental Ethics & Law
Mr. Caputo
Unit #1 Lesson #5

2. Today’s Class
Driving Question: What are the ethical and legal principles the dental team must follow?
Learning Intentions:
We will be able to identify the basic principles of ethics.
We will be able to explain the American Dental Association’s Code of Ethics.
Anchor: How does a dental assistant establish patient trust within the dental office?

3. This Unit
This unit focuses on ethics and the law as they pertain to the practice of dentistry. Ethical and legal principles are required to be maintained on a daily basis. This could be said for any profession, but in dentistry, as in other health care fields where a patient’s welfare is the primary concern, they become even more important. Dental jurisprudence, or the laws pertaining to the practice of dentistry and ethics, or the moral judgments and behaviors, are outlined in each state’s dental practice act. Laws that regulate the practice of dental assisting and dental hygiene are also included in each state’s dental practice act.

4. This Lesson
This lesson focuses on ethical principles in dentistry. Ethics is learned through various means, including personal values, education, religion, parents, and learning from others’ behavior. Ethics help guide the dental team in actions and decisions that affect patient care on a daily basis. The five basic ethical principles used to assist in making choices are autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, and veracity. The American Dental Association and the American Dental Assistants Association each provide guidelines for the ethical behaviors of the professions through their Principles of Ethics.

5. Ethical Behavior in the Field of Dentistry
Defined by American Dental Association’s Principle of Ethics
Basic principles include:
Autonomy ("Self-Governance")
Nonmaleficence ("Do No Harm")
Beneficence ("Do Good")
Justice ("Fairness")
Veracity ("Truthfulness")
To view the ADAA Principles
of Ethics and Code of Conduct,
click here or visit 5

6. Autonomy Patient’s rights for self- determination and confidentiality
Obligates dental team to:
appropriately address patient requests
protect patient confidentiality
involve patient in treatment decisions 6

7. Nonmaleficence
Means the dental team has a duty to protect patient from harm
Dental team’s primary obligations include:
having current skills and knowledge
knowing one’s own limitations
delegating when necessary
To visit the American Society of Dental Ethics (ASDE),
click here or go to 7

8. Beneficence Click here for a question to consider
Expresses concept that the dental team has a duty to act for benefit of others
Primary obligation of dental team is to provide competent and timely care
Click here for a question to consider 8

9. Question to Consider
What should a DA do if asked to perform functions that are not stated in or are against the Code of Conduct? 9

10. Justice Dental team has a duty to be fair when dealing with patients
Obligations include:
treating people justly
delivering care without prejudice
To learn more about the ADA’s Code of
Professional Conduct, click here or visit 10

11. Veracity Duty to communicate truthfully
Primary obligations of dental team include:
respecting position of trust in dentist-patient relationship
communicating truthfully and without deception
maintaining intellectual integrity
To visit the International Dental Ethics and Law Society
(IDEALS), click here or go to 11

12. The Dental Assistant’s Professional Code of Ethics
Provided for by ADAA
Sets forth high standard of care to be given to patients 12

13. The Dental Assistant’s Professional Code of Ethics
The American Dental Assistants Association has a guide for the professional dental assistant in the form of the ADAA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct. It represents maintaining a high standard of care in service to the association and the public. The individual components can be found on the ADAA’s Internet site at As a dental assistant, a high standard of care to dental patients is based both on the code of ethics set forth by the profession of dentistry as well as the laws that have been established to govern the profession.

14. Activity
Goal of the Activity: To emphasize ethics as a standard of conduct.
Lesson Objective of the Activity: Identify the basic principles of ethics.
Materials Required for Activity 1: No materials are required.
Activity 1: Using the basic principles of ethics in health care as a guide, have each student adapt these principles and write their own Personal Code of Conduct as a dental assisting student. Students may use the ADA and ADAA websites as reference ( and Students should limit their document to five specific points.

15. Homework #2
Create a chart on the 9 dental specialties