Dental Ethics

Paper Summary:

This paper states that dental hygienists must study ethics before they begin their actual employment so that they are better prepared to make sound decisions and actions based on ethical considerations. The paper reinforces this statement by looking at some of the ethical dilemmas dental hygienists commonly face and how the study of ethics would help them deal with these dilemmas. The paper maintains that a multifaceted approach to formal ethics instruction that includes community-based service-learning can improve learning and influence the students' attitudes and perceptions about their role as oral healthcare providers in such areas as access to care, disparity, and working in a diverse community.

From the Paper:

"As all other healthcare professionals, dental hygienists have responsibilities to their patients, employers, associations and, most important, to their own personal integrity. It is therefore critical that they be prepared to make sound decisions and actions based on ethical considerations. The growing importance of enforcing ethical behavior in dental hygiene is observed by seeing the number of dental schools that now have formal ethics courses as part of their curricula. Over the last three decades, dental professionals have emphasized the requisite for ethics training and dialogue."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bertolami, C.N. (2004) Why our ethics curricula don't work. Journal of Dental Education. 68(4):414-25.
• Fox E, Arnold RM, Brody B. (1995) Medical ethics education: past, present, and future. Academy of Medicine;70:761-9.
• Gadbury-Amyot, C.G., Simmer-Beck, M., McCunniff, M., and Williams, K. (2005)Using a multifaceted approach including community-based service-learning toenrich formal ethics instruction in a dental school setting. Journal of Dental Hygiene. 64(5):217-24
• Gaston, M.A., Brown, D.M., and Waring, M.B. (199). Survey of ethical issues in dental hygiene Journal of Dental Hygiene 64(7):352.
• Odom, J.G., Beemsterboer, P.L., Pate, T.D., and Haden N.K. (2000) Revisiting the status of dental ethics instruction. Journal of Dental Education. 64:772-4.

More papers on Dental Ethics:

• Analytical Essay # 104938 : "An Ethical Dental Dilemma"
• Term Paper # 121585 : "Ethics in Dental Research"
• Term Paper # 121419 : "Dentist Ethics"

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