Dental Ethics

Code of Practice regarding Professional Behaviour and Ethical Conduct

The Dental Council has published a new Code of Practice on ethical standards entitled “Professional Behaviour and Ethical Conduct”. This Code of Practice supersedes the “Code of Practice on Professional Behaviour and Dental Ethics”.

It is Dental Council’s intention that the Code should be read by all dental healthcare professionals and the broader public. It is designed to allow the reader contemplate the ethical issues which arise in a patient’s passage through dental care.

The Code of Practice is not prescriptive but asks the reader to reflect on the relationship between dentists, their patients and the community from a moral perspective. There are aspects of patient care that are not referred to directly. The primacy of patient safety and welfare is central to all decision making. The general principle is for dentists to ask “what is in your patient’s best interest?” and to act accordingly.

The Code of Practice regarding “Professional Behaviour and Ethical Conduct” is effective from March 2022.

Code of Practice – Professional Behaviour and Ethical Conduct (pdf)