NBDHE NBDHE Professional Ethics and Law 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An adult patient with intact decision-making capacity wishes to leave the dental office mid-procedure against the hygienist's advice. The hygienist should:
- Physically restrain the patient for their own safety
- Allow the patient to leave and document the situation thoroughly (Correct answer)
- Call emergency services to prevent the patient from leaving
- Refuse to release the patient's records until the treatment is complete
Correct answer: Allow the patient to leave and document the situation thoroughly
Competent adults have the right to leave at any time; the hygienist should allow departure, provide any urgent safety information, and carefully document the event.
Question 2: Which of the following actions by a dental hygienist would most likely constitute negligence?
- Recommending a recall interval supported by current evidence
- Failing to detect signs of oral cancer that a reasonably competent hygienist would have identified (Correct answer)
- Referring a patient to a periodontist for advanced disease
- Updating the medical history at each appointment
Correct answer: Failing to detect signs of oral cancer that a reasonably competent hygienist would have identified
Failure to detect abnormalities that a reasonably competent hygienist would have found represents a breach of the standard of care, which can constitute negligence.
Question 3: A dental hygienist who provides care to a patient in an emergency situation outside their workplace and without compensation may be protected from liability under:
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- Good Samaritan laws (Correct answer)
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards
Correct answer: Good Samaritan laws
Good Samaritan laws provide legal protection to licensed professionals who voluntarily render emergency aid in good faith outside of their normal professional capacity.
Question 4: Patient abandonment in dental practice occurs when the provider:
- Refers a patient to a specialist for complex care
- Terminates care without adequate notice or referral when treatment is still needed (Correct answer)
- Takes a scheduled vacation and arranges for coverage
- Declines to accept a new patient whose needs exceed the provider's training
Correct answer: Terminates care without adequate notice or referral when treatment is still needed
Abandonment occurs when a practitioner unilaterally terminates the provider-patient relationship without proper notice or referral while the patient still requires care.
Question 5: The principle of justice in dental hygiene ethics primarily relates to:
- Avoiding actions that cause harm to the patient
- Acting in the patient's best interest at all times
- Fair and equitable distribution of dental care and resources (Correct answer)
- Keeping patient information confidential
Correct answer: Fair and equitable distribution of dental care and resources
Justice refers to the fair, equitable, and appropriate treatment of all individuals, including fair distribution of dental care and resources across society.
Question 6: Which of the following represents an ethical conflict between patient autonomy and beneficence?
- A patient consents to all recommended treatment
- A patient refuses a medically necessary procedure that the hygienist believes is in their best interest (Correct answer)
- A patient asks for a copy of their dental records
- A patient selects their preferred appointment time
Correct answer: A patient refuses a medically necessary procedure that the hygienist believes is in their best interest
When a patient's autonomous refusal of care conflicts with what the provider believes is best for the patient, an autonomy-versus-beneficence tension exists.
Question 7: A dental hygienist's license is issued by and can be revoked by:
- The American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA)
- The Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE)
- The state dental board or state regulatory agency (Correct answer)
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Correct answer: The state dental board or state regulatory agency
Dental hygiene licenses are granted and regulated by state dental boards or equivalent state regulatory agencies, which also have authority to revoke or suspend licensure.
NBDHE NBDHE Professional Ethics and Law 4
An adult patient with intact decision-making capacity wishes to leave the dental office mid-procedure against the hygienist's advice.
The hygienist should: