Ethics and Regulations
What this domain tests
The boundary between laboratory work and clinical practice, and the professional obligations that come with handling patient information and prescriptions.
Core rules
- Scope of practice. A dental technician fabricates to prescription. Diagnosis, treatment planning, shade selection at the chair, occlusion design decisions and direct patient contact are clinical acts reserved to the licensed dentist. Where direct patient contact is permitted at all, it is normally limited and always under prescription.
- Prescription integrity. Never alter a prescribed design, material or shade on your own judgement. If a design is unworkable - for example, a connector too thin to survive - raise it with the prescriber and document the advice; do not silently substitute.
- Confidentiality. Patient identifiers, photographs and scans are personal health information. Share them only with the treating clinician on a need-to-know basis and store them securely.
- Records. Retain prescriptions, case logs and design files for the period required by the jurisdiction; they are the evidence that you worked to instruction.
- Advertising and claims. Describe only what you can substantiate. Claiming a material or process is superior without evidence, or implying regulator endorsement, is a breach.
Worked example
A dentist asks you to select the shade and mould for a complete denture because the patient is not returning before the try-in. The correct response is not to guess. Shade and mould selection depend on the patient's face, gender-neutral aesthetic preferences and the remaining natural teeth - clinical judgements. Request that the clinician record the shade and mould on the prescription, and document that the case is on hold pending that information.
Traps that cost marks
- Accepting a prescription that omits the tooth or material.
- Making a clinical choice to keep the workflow moving.
- Discussing a case with anyone outside the treatment team.