| What we do – Dental
Problems |
| Consent to dental treatment |
<< back |
| Most people would accept
that a dentist should not be able to carry out treatment
on a patient without their prior consent to do so. But
what does this mean? |
| The reality is that many
patients simply open their mouth and accept whatever
treatment the dentist provides with very little enquiry
or understanding as to what is being done to them. Some
dentists assume that patients are content to accept whatever
treatment the dentist wishes to carry out as the ‘dentist
knows best’, and some patients do prefer this – until
the treatment goes wrong that is. |
| What am I entitled to know
about the treatment that a dentist proposes? |
| The patient must understand
the basic nature of the procedure to be carried – for
example, what does the dentist mean by root canal treatment? – and
the patient must be told the advantages and disadvantages
of the treatment that the dentist is recommending, compared
to other treatments that might also be possible. Dentistry
can be different from medicine and surgery, in that often
there are a number of different ways of treating a particular
dental problem. So the dental patient must understand
all the alternative treatments and be able to choose
sensibly between them. |
| Some dentists might say that
the dentist should make the decision as to which treatment
option is best for the patient as a patient cannot be
expected to understand the technicalities of dental treatment.
Of course the dentist is the technical expert and not
the patient, but it is after all the patient’s
body that is being operated upon and so it is the patient
who should make the final decision as to what treatment
is performed, not the dentist. The dentist must give
the patient enough accurate information to make this
decision. The dentist must not down-play the risks of
treatment and must not discuss other treatments in such
a way as to persuade a patient to accept the dentist’s
preferred choice of treatment. |
| What if I’ve signed
a consent form and didn’t understand the treatment? |
| Signing a consent form does
not mean that the dentist can carry out any treatment
he likes. You still have to understand all the treatments
that could have been done and choose between them. |
| Can children consent to dental
treatment? |
| A child of any age can agree
to dental treatment as long as they understand the nature
of the treatment and its consequences – even if
the child’s parents or guardian refuses the treatment.
If however a child under 18 refuses dental treatment
then a parent or guardian can authorize the dental treatment
despite the child’s reluctance to undergo the treatment. |
| Can a patient who does not
understand the treatment proposed consent to that treatment? |
| If someone does not have
the mental capacity to understand the treatment that
a dentist recommends then the dentist can carry out the
treatment anyway as long as it is in the patient’s
best interest. |
 |
