Category: Legal Issues

The American Dental Association’s Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct (Code) requires dentists to respect patients’ rights to self-determination and confidentiality. Section 1 – Principle: Patient Autonomy of the Code “expresses the concept that professionals have a duty to treat the patient according to the patient’s ... [continue reading]

With a new crop of dental students graduating this spring and an increasing number of more mature dentists changing their practice modality by either joining group practices or leaving group practices to go out on their own, it seems like a good time to provide a brief primer on dental malpractice insurance. While malpractice lawsuits in ... [continue reading]

A common question I receive at the ODA is how to terminate the dentist-patient relationship in a proper way.  I think this is the case because it is not something that a dentist does on a normal basis and they want to ensure they are doing it correctly. Terminating the dentist-patient relationship requires the dentist to exercise care to avoid ... [continue reading]

Dentists are well respected professionals and are trusted members of any community. As such, state law and the ADA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct (Code) place obligations upon dentists to report abuse and neglect at certain times. It is important for dentists to be familiar with the legal and ethical requirements surrounding ... [continue reading]

I recently received a question regarding music in an office and it forced me to do a little research to figure out what exactly are the rules regarding music licensing and playing music in an office. Long gone are the days of tape cassettes, compact discs, and even illegally downloading music from websites such as Napster or LimeWire. With music ... [continue reading]

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) classifies dental offices as places of public accommodation. Accordingly, offices must make “reasonable modifications” to their practices, policies and procedures in order to accommodate disabled patients. This act covers all types of disabilities, but in this article I want to discuss one of the most ... [continue reading]

A well-defined office manual can be of great benefit to a dental practice. Employment issues are some of the most difficult matters to confront as a small-business owner. Oftentimes, the best way for employer dentists to avoid the common problems that arise with employees is to establish an office employee manual. Establishing an employee ... [continue reading]

The technological world that we live in continues to evolve almost daily. One area in which technology has evolved immensely in the last 20 years is in the world of computers and especially the internet. At the turn of the century, the idea that the vast majority of dental offices would have their own website would have sounded far-fetched. ... [continue reading]

Being a member of organized dentistry provides plenty of benefits. Those benefits range from savings on products and services used in dental offices to continuing education opportunities to legislative advocacy. Along with these benefits, your membership also offers you access to necessary information in the dental community. This information ... [continue reading]

Being a member of organized dentistry provides plenty of benefits. Those benefits range from savings on products and services used in dental offices to continuing education opportunities to legislative advocacy. Along with these benefits, your membership also offers you access to necessary information in the dental community. This information ... [continue reading]