Indeed, the importance of gaining informed consent from the patient before any dental treatment cannot be underestimated. Both the GDC and CQC explicitly state what is required of dental professionals in these instances, with the GDC Standards Guide asserting:
“It is a general legal and ethical principle that you must get valid consent before starting treatment or physical investigation, or providing personal care, for a patient. This principle reflects the right of patients to decide what happens to their own bodies, and is an essential part of good practice. Patients have a right to choose whether or not to accept your advice or treatment. This guidance identifies, and is limited to, the ethical principles of getting patient consent, which you should apply to your work.”
Similarly, Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, which relates to CQC outcome 2 states:
“The registered person must have suitable arrangements in place for obtaining, and acting in accordance with, the consent of service users in relation to the care and treatment provided for them.”
To ensure dental professionals at all levels can efficiently pursue responsible and ethical patient care, the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (BACD) provides members with an essential Protocols service.
Designed specifically to assist in every aspect of achieving patient satisfaction, the series of protocols and consent forms available from the BACD can be adapted to suit the individual circumstances of each case, helping to ensure a methodical and thorough approach to treatment planning. What’s more, they can make gaining patient consent easier, faster and safer by providing essential help for the entire process.
Practitioners can use the protocols and consent forms to make sure each patient is fully informed of all the options, risks, limitations, costs and possible side effects of any treatments. However, it should be noted that in cases of sedation, tooth whitening and periodontal surgery, additional consent forms should be utilised.
When patients are fully aware of what a specific procedure entails, they feel safer and are more easily able to give informed consent. Using the BACD’s up to date forms and protocols makes the process far faster, due to the template format that is available. An additional benefit is that these protocols can help ensure a consistently high standard is met by dental professionals, giving them the security that they operate within a completely ethical professional framework.
The BACD is constantly striving to improve the standard of cosmetic dentistry in this country. From providing professionals with the tools to make practising safer and more efficient, to organising internationally renowned educational events, the BACD is forging ahead to achieve nothing but the best standard of dental care.
To find out more about the benefits of joining the BACD, contact the friendly team today.
For more information about the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, go to www.bacd.com