A patient sometimes consents to a particular line of treatment because of the apparent advantages or benefits as described by the dentist. Care should be taken to ensure that the information given is balanced and accurate, and that any claims (as to likely success) can be substantiated. Statements such as “your crown will last for lifeâ€, or “your molar root treatment will be 100% successful†or “I guarantee you will have no problem†may dramatically weaken the value and validity of the consent contained. Continue reading
Tag Archives: information
Consent – Dental Protection Part 9
Evidence base
Some clinicians believe that patients must be provided with every last detail of the evidence base, in order to enable them to assess the information objectively and to compare alternative treatment options. Not only is this another onerous prospect for the clinician, it also fails to recognise two important aspects of the consent process. Continue reading
Consent – Dental Protection Part 7
Avoid restricting the person’s rights
- See if there are other options that may be less restrictive of the person’s rights.
- Weigh up all of these factors to work out what is in the person’s best interests. Continue reading
Consent – Dental Protection Part 5
Children
Most children eventually reach an age where they can grasp relevant facts about their body and about proposed treatment to it. They can give consent to treatment, but the degree of understanding can vary in relation to the complexity of the treatment envisaged. A few children are never, even when adulthood is reached, capable of properly understanding the information given to them and must therefore be considered incapable of giving consent. Continue reading
Consent – Dental Protection Part 4
Competence
In order both to understand the information provided, and to give the necessary authority for consent, a patient must be competent. “Competence†in this context means the patient’s ability to understand the explanations given, about:
- The nature and purpose of a particular procedure;
- Its likely effects and risks; and
- Any alternative treatment and how these alternatives might compare. Continue reading
Consent – Dental Protection Part 3
Influence
We can influence patients consciously or subconsciously by the way in which we communicate with them. For example
The words we use
Whether the words are written or spoken, a patient’s perception can easily be influenced by the words that we choose to use. Some patients will be particularly reactive or sensitive to the use of certain words (eg. “cutâ€, “drillâ€, “injectâ€, “bleedingâ€, “painful†etc); when you are discussing a procedure face to face you can usually see this reaction, and deal with it there and then. But when you use the same words in a letter, you don’t get this opportunity. Continue reading