Ethical Questions in Dentistry

Updated to reflect the current ethical climate, this book presents clinical practice cases in which arguments can be made for differing courses of action or in which the obligations of the professional are in conflict; the reader is asked to determine the ethically correct response to such conflicts. In this revised edition, detailed background material has been added to many of the cases to foster more well-reasoned ethical decision making. In addition, cases on sexual harassment and advertising have been introduced, and those on financial and HIV issues have been updated. An entirely new chapter on the structure and obligations of the various professions has been added.

James T. Rule, DDS, MS is professor emeritus at the University of Maryland Dental School, where he was chair of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry from 1978 to 1998. His interest in ethics was stimulated by a sabbatical leave at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University in 1989 and 1990, which culminated in the book Ethical Questions in Dentistry, coauthored with Robert M. Veatch. Dr Rule subsequently initiated a course in professional ethics for dental students and co-founded a graduate course in research ethics for the University of Maryland at Baltimore. He is now retired and lives in Deer Isle, Maine.