title: The case of the pregnant adolescent.
abstract: In this case an adolescent, minor female presents herself for routine dental care, but is pregnant without parental knowledge. She asks the dentist not to reveal the pregnancy to her parents. Three experts including one attorney, one dental educator with 25 years of private practice experience, and one member of a state psychological association's ethics committee comment on the difficult ethical and legal issues found in this actual case.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific in San Francisco, USA. bpeltier@pacific.edu
authors.forename: Bruce N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Peltier
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoover
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zarkowski
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Patterson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003219:Confidentiality / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003376:Counseling; D003469:Culture; D003729:Dental Care / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics; D004990:Ethics, Dental; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008605:Mental Health Services; D033242:Minors / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D033282:Parental Consent / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000941:ethics*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations / Q000941:ethics; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D035502:Trust; D014342:Truth Disclosure / Q000941:ethics; D014481:United States