Professional Ethics, Legal, and Regulatory Standards
Core concepts
Know the ethical principles: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and veracity. Understand scope of practice, supervision levels, and delegation rules for dental assistants. Learn about informed consent, confidentiality (including HIPAA-type protections), record retention, and mandatory reporting. Recognize professional obligations such as infection control compliance, continuing education, and honest billing. Understand the difference between civil and criminal liability and the concept of negligence (duty, breach, causation, damages).
Traps to watch
Questions test scope of practice carefully: performing a task outside one's legal scope is wrong even if the assistant is capable. Another trap is confidentiality - discussing a patient's care in public or with unauthorized persons violates privacy. Informed consent traps involve assuming consent is implied for complex procedures. Also watch for conflicts of interest and misrepresentation of credentials. Ethical questions often have a "technically legal but unethical" distractor; choose the response that upholds both law and professional standards.
Worked rule of thumb
When unsure, apply the four elements of negligence and the ethics principles. Example: if an assistant performs a procedure not permitted by law, duty and breach are established regardless of outcome, and the conduct is both illegal and unethical.
Professional conduct
Report unsafe practices through proper channels, maintain competence, and document accurately.