ISSN Imprimir: 2151-805X
ISSN En Línea: 2151-8068
The significance of Fear as an "Equal Opportunity Component" in the Articulation & Acceptance of Informed Consent in Dentistry
SINOPSIS
The doctrine of informed consent addresses the adequacy of information given to a patient to enable them to make a knowledgeable choice regarding whether to undergo treatment. The average patient, who knows little about dentistry or medicine, typically can turn to no one other than their doctor for advice in making an informed decision. The obligation for dentists to obtain informed consent before treatment is grounded in the ethical principle of patient autonomy, which provides that every adult of sound mind has the right of self-determination as to what shall be done with his or her body, as well as in state licensure regulations, the general rule of which is that a dentist must disclose the risks or hazards that could influence a reasonable person in making a decision to give or withhold consent. The individual giving consent needs to be in possession of all of their faculties and without any impairment of judgment at the time of consenting. Nevertheless, the communication and comprehension of the elements that constitute legal and ethical informed consent often are obscured by a common component shared by both the dentist and the patient: fear. For the dentist, there is fear that providing all of the information necessary for the patient to consider before consenting to treatment may add to the patient's already elevated apprehension. For the patient, the aforementioned inherent or acquired apprehension is compounded by the realization that treatment is necessary and unavoidable relative to the consequences of no treatment, and therefore the patient will concede without making adequate inquiry before giving consent for treatment. This article, therefore, seeks to explore the significance of fear as an "equal opportunity component" that works to undermine both the articulation and acceptance of ethical and legal informed consent in dentistry.
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