Ethics, Medical
Dental Care
The total of dental diagnostic, preventive, and restorative services provided to meet the needs of a patient (from Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry, 1982).
Ethics Committees
Committees established by professional societies, health facilities, or other institutions to consider decisions that have bioethical implications. The role of these committees may include consultation, education, mediation, and/or review of policies and practices. Committees that consider the ethical dimensions of patient care are ETHICS COMMITTEES, CLINICAL; committees established to protect the welfare of research subjects are ETHICS COMMITTEES, RESEARCH.
Ethics
The philosophy or code pertaining to what is ideal in human character and conduct. Also, the field of study dealing with the principles of morality.
Ethics, Research
The moral obligations governing the conduct of research. Used for discussions of research ethics as a general topic.
Ethics Consultation
Services provided by an individual ethicist (ETHICISTS) or an ethics team or committee (ETHICS COMMITTEES, CLINICAL) to address the ethical issues involved in a specific clinical case. The central purpose is to improve the process and outcomes of patients' care by helping to identify, analyze, and resolve ethical problems.
Ethics, Clinical
The identification, analysis, and resolution of moral problems that arise in the care of patients. (Bioethics Thesaurus)
Ethics, Nursing
Schools, Dental
Educational institutions for individuals specializing in the field of dentistry.
Students, Dental
Ethics Committees, Research
Hospital or other institutional committees established to protect the welfare of research subjects. Federal regulations (the "Common Rule" (45 CFR 46)) mandate the use of these committees to monitor federally-funded biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects.
Ethics Committees, Clinical
Hospital or other institutional ethics committees established to consider the ethical dimensions of patient care. Distinguish from ETHICS COMMITTEES, RESEARCH, which are established to monitor the welfare of patients or healthy volunteers participating in research studies.
Ethics, Dental
Dental Caries
Localized destruction of the tooth surface initiated by decalcification of the enamel followed by enzymatic lysis of organic structures and leading to cavity formation. If left unchecked, the cavity may penetrate the enamel and dentin and reach the pulp.
Ethics, Professional
Principle-Based Ethics
An approach to ethics that focuses on theories of the importance of general principles such as respect for autonomy, beneficence/nonmaleficence, and justice.
Dental Care for Chronically Ill
Dental care for patients with chronic diseases. These diseases include chronic cardiovascular, endocrinologic, hematologic, immunologic, neoplastic, and renal diseases. The concept does not include dental care for the mentally or physically disabled which is DENTAL CARE FOR DISABLED.
Ethical Theory
A philosophically coherent set of propositions (for example, utilitarianism) which attempts to provide general norms for the guidance and evaluation of moral conduct. (from Beauchamp and Childress, Principles of Biomedical Ethics, 4th ed)
Dental Care for Children
The giving of attention to the special dental needs of children, including the prevention of tooth diseases and instruction in dental hygiene and dental health. The dental care may include the services provided by dental specialists.
Dental Clinics
Facilities where dental care is provided to patients.
Ethicists
Dental Hygienists
Dental Pulp
Bioethical Issues
Clusters of topics that fall within the domain of BIOETHICS, the field of study concerned with value questions that arise in biomedicine and health care delivery.
Faculty, Dental
The teaching staff and members of the administrative staff having academic rank in a dental school.
Ethical Analysis
The use of systematic methods of ethical examination, such as CASUISTRY or ETHICAL THEORY, in reasoning about moral problems.
Dental Care for Disabled
Dental care for the emotionally, mentally, or physically disabled patient. It does not include dental care for the chronically ill ( = DENTAL CARE FOR CHRONICALLY ILL).
Dental Anxiety
Insurance, Dental
Insurance providing coverage for dental care.
Dental Research
Ethical Review
A formal process of examination of patient care or research proposals for conformity with ethical standards. The review is usually conducted by an organized clinical or research ethics committee (CLINICAL ETHICS COMMITTEES or RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEES), sometimes by a subset of such a committee, an ad hoc group, or an individual ethicist (ETHICISTS).
Dental Care for Aged
The giving of attention to the special dental needs of the elderly for proper maintenance or treatment. The dental care may include the services provided by dental specialists.
Dental Arch
The curve formed by the row of TEETH in their normal position in the JAW. The inferior dental arch is formed by the mandibular teeth, and the superior dental arch by the maxillary teeth.
Bioethics
A branch of applied ethics that studies the value implications of practices and developments in life sciences, medicine, and health care.
Dental Plaque
A film that attaches to teeth, often causing DENTAL CARIES and GINGIVITIS. It is composed of MUCINS, secreted from salivary glands, and microorganisms.
Dental Offices
The room or rooms in which the dentist and dental staff provide care. Offices include all rooms in the dentist's office suite.
Dental Records
Dental Staff
Dental Equipment
The nonexpendable items used by the dentist or dental staff in the performance of professional duties. (From Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed, p106)
General Practice, Dental
Nonspecialized dental practice which is concerned with providing primary and continuing dental care.
Dental Amalgam
An alloy used in restorative dentistry that contains mercury, silver, tin, copper, and possibly zinc.
Moral Obligations
Duties that are based in ETHICS, rather than in law.
Education, Dental, Continuing
Educational programs designed to inform dentists of recent advances in their fields.
Beneficence
The state or quality of being kind, charitable, or beneficial. (from American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed). The ethical principle of BENEFICENCE requires producing net benefit over harm. (Bioethics Thesaurus)
Dental Implants
Dentists
Individuals licensed to practice DENTISTRY.
Radiography, Dental
Radiographic techniques used in dentistry.
Societies, Dental
Societies whose membership is limited to dentists.
Dental Models
Presentation devices used for patient education and technique training in dentistry.
Education, Dental, Graduate
Dental Service, Hospital
Hospital department providing dental care.
Personal Autonomy
Technology, Dental
Dental Health Surveys
A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to dental or oral health and disease in a human population within a given geographic area.
Fluorosis, Dental
A chronic endemic form of hypoplasia of the dental enamel caused by drinking water with a high fluorine content during the time of tooth formation, and characterized by defective calcification that gives a white chalky appearance to the enamel, which gradually undergoes brown discoloration. (Jablonski's Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p286)
Licensure, Dental
The granting of a license to practice dentistry.
Laboratories, Dental
Virtues
Character traits that are considered to be morally praiseworthy. (Bioethics Thesaurus)
Dental Materials
Theology
Informed Consent
Practice Management, Dental
Dental Sac
Dense fibrous layer formed from mesodermal tissue that surrounds the epithelial enamel organ. The cells eventually migrate to the external surface of the newly formed root dentin and give rise to the cementoblasts that deposit cementum on the developing root, fibroblasts of the developing periodontal ligament, and osteoblasts of the developing alveolar bone.
Social Values
Social Responsibility
Dentistry
Esthetics, Dental
Paternalism
Interference with the FREEDOM or PERSONAL AUTONOMY of another person, with justifications referring to the promotion of the person's good or the prevention of harm to the person. (from Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 1995); more generally, not allowing a person to make decisions on his or her own behalf.
Comprehensive Dental Care
Providing for the full range of dental health services for diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and rehabilitation of patients.
Committee Membership
Patient Rights
Fundamental claims of patients, as expressed in statutes, declarations, or generally accepted moral principles. (Bioethics Thesaurus) The term is used for discussions of patient rights as a group of many rights, as in a hospital's posting of a list of patient rights.
Personhood
The state or condition of being a human individual accorded moral and/or legal rights. Criteria to be used to determine this status are subject to debate, and range from the requirement of simply being a human organism to such requirements as that the individual be self-aware and capable of rational thought and moral agency.
Philosophy, Medical
Medical philosophy is a branch of philosophy that deals with the concepts, values, and nature of medicine, including its ethical implications, epistemological foundations, and societal impact, aimed at informing and improving medical practice, research, and education.
Health Education, Dental
Infection Control, Dental
Efforts to prevent and control the spread of infections within dental health facilities or those involving provision of dental care.
Dental Papilla
Dental Prosthesis
An artificial replacement for one or more natural teeth or part of a tooth, or associated structures, ranging from a portion of a tooth to a complete denture. The dental prosthesis is used for cosmetic or functional reasons, or both. DENTURES and specific types of dentures are also available. (From Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed, p244 & Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p643)
Philosophy
Social Justice
Tooth Diseases
'Tooth diseases' is a broad term referring to various conditions affecting the teeth, including dental caries (cavities), periodontal disease (gum disease), tooth wear, tooth sensitivity, oral cancer, and developmental anomalies, which can result in pain, discomfort, or loss of teeth if left untreated.
Dental Audit
A detailed review and evaluation of selected clinical records by qualified professional personnel for evaluating quality of dental care.
Oral Health
Dental Instruments
Dental Waste
Dental Implantation
Ethical Relativism
Confidentiality
The privacy of information and its protection against unauthorized disclosure.
Economics, Dental
Economic aspects of the dental profession and dental care.
Jurisprudence
The science or philosophy of law. Also, the application of the principles of law and justice to health and medicine.
DMF Index
"Decayed, missing and filled teeth," a routinely used statistical concept in dentistry.
Dental Alloys
A mixture of metallic elements or compounds with other metallic or metalloid elements in varying proportions for use in restorative or prosthetic dentistry.
Dental Caries Susceptibility
Dental Informatics
Human Rights
Oral Hygiene
The practice of personal hygiene of the mouth. It includes the maintenance of oral cleanliness, tissue tone, and general preservation of oral health.
Dental Occlusion
The relationship of all the components of the masticatory system in normal function. It has special reference to the position and contact of the maxillary and mandibular teeth for the highest efficiency during the excursive movements of the jaw that are essential for mastication. (From Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p556, p472)
Dental Scaling
Removal of dental plaque and dental calculus from the surface of a tooth, from the surface of a tooth apical to the gingival margin accumulated in periodontal pockets, or from the surface coronal to the gingival margin.
Research Subjects
Value of Life
The intrinsic moral worth ascribed to a living being. (Bioethics Thesaurus)
Dentistry, Operative
That phase of clinical dentistry concerned with the restoration of parts of existing teeth that are defective through disease, trauma, or abnormal development, to the state of normal function, health, and esthetics, including preventive, diagnostic, biological, mechanical, and therapeutic techniques, as well as material and instrument science and application. (Jablonski's Dictionary of Dentistry, 2d ed, p237)
American Dental Association
Professional society representing the field of dentistry.
Dental Facilities
Use for material on dental facilities in general or for which there is no specific heading.
Ethics, Pharmacy
Dental Devices, Home Care
Preventive Dentistry
The branch of dentistry concerned with the prevention of disease and the maintenance and promotion of oral health.
Photography, Dental
Legislation, Dental
Laws and regulations pertaining to the field of dentistry, proposed for enactment or recently enacted by a legislative body.
Tooth Extraction
The surgical removal of a tooth. (Dorland, 28th ed)
Resource Allocation
Molar
The most posterior teeth on either side of the jaw, totaling eight in the deciduous dentition (2 on each side, upper and lower), and usually 12 in the permanent dentition (three on each side, upper and lower). They are grinding teeth, having large crowns and broad chewing surfaces. (Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p821)
Dental Porcelain
A type of porcelain used in dental restorations, either jacket crowns or inlays, artificial teeth, or metal-ceramic crowns. It is essentially a mixture of particles of feldspar and quartz, the feldspar melting first and providing a glass matrix for the quartz. Dental porcelain is produced by mixing ceramic powder (a mixture of quartz, kaolin, pigments, opacifiers, a suitable flux, and other substances) with distilled water. (From Jablonski's Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992)
Radiography, Dental, Digital
A rapid, low-dose, digital imaging system using a small intraoral sensor instead of radiographic film, an intensifying screen, and a charge-coupled device. It presents the possibility of reduced patient exposure and minimal distortion, although resolution and latitude are inferior to standard dental radiography. A receiver is placed in the mouth, routing signals to a computer which images the signals on a screen or in print. It includes digitizing from x-ray film or any other detector. (From MEDLINE abstracts; personal communication from Dr. Charles Berthold, NIDR)
Community Dentistry
The practice of dentistry concerned with preventive as well as diagnostic and treatment programs in a circumscribed population.
Conflict of Interest
A situation in which an individual might benefit personally from official or professional actions. It includes a conflict between a person's private interests and official responsibilities in a position of trust. The term is not restricted to government officials. The concept refers both to actual conflict of interest and the appearance or perception of conflict.
Stomatognathic Diseases
Pediatric Dentistry
The practice of dentistry concerned with the dental problems of children, proper maintenance, and treatment. The dental care may include the services provided by dental specialists.
Metaphysics
The branch of philosophy that treats of first principles, including ontology (the nature of existence or being) and cosmology (the origin and structure of the universe). (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)
Dentist's Practice Patterns
Patterns of practice in dentistry related to diagnosis and treatment.
Euthanasia, Passive
Patient Advocacy
Dental Implantation, Endosseous
Insertion of an implant into the bone of the mandible or maxilla. The implant has an exposed head which protrudes through the mucosa and is a prosthodontic abutment.
Dissent and Disputes
Euthanasia
The act or practice of killing or allowing death from natural causes, for reasons of mercy, i.e., in order to release a person from incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death. (from Beauchamp and Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, 5th ed)
Biomedical Research
Incisor
Helsinki Declaration
An international agreement of the World Medical Association which offers guidelines for conducting experiments using human subjects. It was adopted in 1962 and revised by the 18th World Medical Assembly at Helsinki, Finland in 1964. Subsequent revisions were made in 1975, 1983, 1989, and 1996. (From Encyclopedia of Bioethics, rev ed, 1995)
Withholding Treatment
Withholding or withdrawal of a particular treatment or treatments, often (but not necessarily) life-prolonging treatment, from a patient or from a research subject as part of a research protocol. The concept is differentiated from REFUSAL TO TREAT, where the emphasis is on the health professional's or health facility's refusal to treat a patient or group of patients when the patient or the patient's representative requests treatment. Withholding of life-prolonging treatment is usually indexed only with EUTHANASIA, PASSIVE, unless the distinction between withholding and withdrawing treatment, or the issue of withholding palliative rather than curative treatment, is discussed.
Dental Enamel Hypoplasia
An acquired or hereditary condition due to deficiency in the formation of tooth enamel (AMELOGENESIS). It is usually characterized by defective, thin, or malformed DENTAL ENAMEL. Risk factors for enamel hypoplasia include gene mutations, nutritional deficiencies, diseases, and environmental factors.
Cultural Diversity
Libraries, Dental
Diagnosis, Oral
Attitude of Health Personnel
Evidence-Based Dentistry
An approach or process of practicing oral health care that requires the judicious integration of systematic assessments of clinical relevant scientific evidence, relating to the patient's oral and medical condition and history, with the dentist's clinical expertise and the patient's treatment needs and preferences. (from J Am Dent Assoc 134: 689, 2003)
Group Practice, Dental
Any group of three or more full-time dentists, organized in a legally recognized entity for the provision of dental care, sharing space, equipment, personnel and records for both patient care and business management, and who have a predetermined arrangement for the distribution of income.
Dental Pulp Diseases
Endodontic diseases of the DENTAL PULP inside the tooth, which is distinguished from PERIAPICAL DISEASES of the tissue surrounding the root.
Nontherapeutic Human Experimentation
Human experimentation that is not intended to benefit the subjects on whom it is performed. Phase I drug studies (CLINICAL TRIALS, PHASE I AS TOPIC) and research involving healthy volunteers are examples of nontherapeutic human experimentation.
Dental Prosthesis Design
The plan and delineation of dental prostheses in general or a specific dental prosthesis. It does not include DENTURE DESIGN. The framework usually consists of metal.
Tooth Injuries
Dental Calculus
Dental Pulp Calcification
Tooth, Deciduous
The teeth of the first dentition, which are shed and replaced by the permanent teeth.
United States
The term "United States" in a medical context often refers to the country where a patient or study participant resides, and is not a medical term per se, but relevant for epidemiological studies, healthcare policies, and understanding differences in disease prevalence, treatment patterns, and health outcomes across various geographic locations.
Dentition
Dental Cavity Preparation
An operation in which carious material is removed from teeth and biomechanically correct forms are established in the teeth to receive and retain restorations. A constant requirement is provision for prevention of failure of the restoration through recurrence of decay or inadequate resistance to applied stresses. (Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed, p239-40)
Dental Bonding
An adhesion procedure for orthodontic attachments, such as plastic DENTAL CROWNS. This process usually includes the application of an adhesive material (DENTAL CEMENTS) and letting it harden in-place by light or chemical curing.
Dental Plaque Index
An index which scores the degree of dental plaque accumulation.
Toothbrushing
The act of cleaning teeth with a brush to remove plaque and prevent tooth decay. (From Webster, 3d ed)
Dental Restoration Failure
Endodontics
A dental specialty concerned with the maintenance of the dental pulp in a state of health and the treatment of the pulp cavity (pulp chamber and pulp canal).
Prosthodontics
Dental Cements
Substances used to bond COMPOSITE RESINS to DENTAL ENAMEL and DENTIN. These bonding or luting agents are used in restorative dentistry, ROOT CANAL THERAPY; PROSTHODONTICS; and ORTHODONTICS.
Odontogenesis
The process of TOOTH formation. It is divided into several stages including: the dental lamina stage, the bud stage, the cap stage, and the bell stage. Odontogenesis includes the production of tooth enamel (AMELOGENESIS), dentin (DENTINOGENESIS), and dental cementum (CEMENTOGENESIS).
Mandible
Jehovah's Witnesses
Members of a religious denomination founded in the United States during the late 19th century in which active evangelism is practiced, the imminent approach of the millennium is preached, and war and organized government authority in matters of conscience are strongly opposed (from American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed). Jehovah's Witnesses generally refuse blood transfusions and other blood-based treatments based on religious belief.
Empirical Research
Dental Impression Technique
Procedure of producing an imprint or negative likeness of the teeth and/or edentulous areas. Impressions are made in plastic material which becomes hardened or set while in contact with the tissue. They are later filled with plaster of Paris or artificial stone to produce a facsimile of the oral structures present. Impressions may be made of a full complement of teeth, of areas where some teeth have been removed, or in a mouth from which all teeth have been extracted. (Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry, 1982)
Periodontal Diseases
Decision Making
Dental Abutments
Therapeutic Human Experimentation
Questionnaires
Whistleblowing
The reporting of observed or suspected PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT or incompetence to appropriate authorities or to the public.
Behavior Control
Mouth Diseases
'Mouth diseases' is a broad term referring to various conditions that cause inflammation, infection, or structural changes in any part of the mouth, including the lips, gums, tongue, palate, cheeks, and teeth, which can lead to symptoms such as pain, discomfort, difficulty in chewing or speaking, and altered aesthetics.
Age Determination by Teeth
A means of identifying the age of an animal or human through tooth examination.
Models, Educational
Theoretical models which propose methods of learning or teaching as a basis or adjunct to changes in attitude or behavior. These educational interventions are usually applied in the fields of health and patient education but are not restricted to patient care.
Dental Disinfectants
Educational Measurement
Researcher-Subject Relations
Interaction between research personnel and research subjects.
Pit and Fissure Sealants
Agents used to occlude dental enamel pits and fissures in the prevention of dental caries.
Cuspid
Confucianism
A school of thought and set of moral, ethical, and political teachings usually considered to be founded by Confucius in 6th-5th century B.C. China. (from Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 1995)