A Dental Ethics Blog
Introduction The inequitable distribution of professional dental care is a major concern facing the field of dentistry. Of course, dental institutions such as the American Dental Association and dental schools are clearly aware of this issue. There is conflict, however, between the private practice model and the oral health needs of the U.S. population. The…
Respect To respect a thing or a person is to hold that object in high regard. We feel disrespected when we are lied to or disregarded. In this article, we will explore the principle of respect for autonomy. I will explain why human dignity is the highest good and why autonomy is worthy of every…
Hippocratic Oath Some version of the Hippocratic Oath is taken by dental students at the start of dental school. The original version made a promise to Apollo never to ever do surgery, so dental schools have adopted updated versions. However, there is no standardized oath. It would be overwhelming to discuss each version individually in…
Defining health is a metaphysical concern because health is an abstract idea or concept. We explore metaphysical questions such as what is health by using the dialectical method. This post is an initial attempt at defining oral health using the dialectical method. We will first explore some common sense conceptions of health to better our…
First Principles Many people think metaphysics is what is transcendental, what is “beyond the physical” or “outside spacetime.” Laypeople get this impression from pseudo-intellectual hippies. Academics get this impression from an etymological misunderstanding of “meta” and “physics.” Metaphysics, however, is the study of first principles: a set of propositions that explain the nature of reality as…
The Golden Rule or empathy principle is the most familiar ethical imperative one comes across in everyday life. The rule states that one must treat others as oneself would want to be treated in a similar situation. The rule is easy to understand but it is not recommended to be used in a healthcare setting. This…