Dental Business Management: Ethics, Patient Protection, and Conduct

Running head: Dental Business Management 1
DENTAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Student Name
Institution

Dental Business Management 2
1. Introduction
Dental management business is multifaceted care that takes many factors into
consideration. Some of the factors to consider in dental management include ethical issues,
ethical codes of conduct and patient protection. Patient protection is another dental management
factors that look into patient’s rights and professionalism at the same time. Ethical codes come
with legal provisions and guidelines that set by Australian board of dental practitioners. Dental
management takes into accounts patient’s code of conduct as an aspect that sets the quality of
dental health care. It is important to note that more dental business management put the client at
the forefront position in quality management being the customer. This implies at the point of
relationship building between health practitioners and clients are based on professional mutual
benefit and client focus. The following paper explores various elements of dental management.
2. Dental business management
2.1 Ethics in the dental management
Australian dental board presents various ethical codes or standards that are used in dental
management in Australia. These ethical codes are formulated following acceptable code of
professionalism and legal provisions. This implies that ethics in dental management incorporates
both health care practice and cooperates management factors. Ethical standards take into account
accepted standards of practice, professional values, legal requirements and healthcare policies. It
important to discuss some of these ethical codes of practice that is applied in dental management
and is highlighted by Dental Board of Australia.
Firstly, professional values and qualities are the foundation of dental codes as outlined by
the Australian dental board. The board provides the guiding principles of professional values and
qualities when providing dental care to patients or client as much as the relationship between
practitioners. In addition, dental professionals are expected to show uttermost care where patents
cannot make right decisions and this requires practitioners to make substitute decisions in order
to provide good and quality care to patients or clients (O’Higgins 2014, pp 186).

Dental Business Management 3
Secondly, providing good care is based on the principle of beneficence and this is the
primary focus of the dental management in Australia. Dental management in Australia is based
on the ethical standard of good service provision to clients and other healthcare professionals.
This is based on shared decisions and access to the quality care that is expected of any dental
service provider. In addition, every dentist is expected to offer service that is benefiting to their
clients especially during emergency care and these services should be readily accessible by
patients (Fieser 2009).
Thirdly, relationships building, especially with clients, are another ethical code that is
outlined with the board. The board lay down guiding principle for developing a relationship with
clients or patient based on respect, good communications and trust. To ensure that this is taken
into consideration, dental practitioners are expected to form a partnership with their client in a
more professional and courtesies. In addition, good communication is expected from any dental
practitioner coupled with confidentiality of the patient’s information (Kumar, Yashoda &
Puranik 2017, pp 332-340).
Fourthly, building a good relationship with other health practitioners is a precursor for
good client relationship and subsequently good patient care. Good relationship building between
dentists and other practitioners is based on respect for all colleagues and other health
practitioners. Moreover, teamwork and multidisciplinary approach is another factor that plays a
critical role in managing the relationship with other healthcare practitioners. Proper care
coordination forms the unifying factors that foster coordination of activities between colleagues
and other care-providers (Naidoo 2013, pp 36-7).
Fifthly, minimizing risk ethical code is based on the principle of nonmaleficence that
provides limited chances for risk in dental care. The key pillars of the ethical code are risk
identification, risk management, and good professional performance. The dental ethical code
provides the basis for minimizing risk especially those risk that are touching patients and this
should be handled with uttermost care. Performance of dental health practitioners is expected to
be of a high professional standard that upholds the principle of high-quality service provision.