title: The person who wears the white coat.
abstract: Legal practice, charity care, and professionalism are the outward signs of dental competence, symbolized by the white coat. Ethics, the transformation of character, is a reflection of the person wearing the white coat. Patients and others assume the first three from the title "doctor." What they want to know is what kind of person is wearing the white coat.
authors.affiliation: University of the Pacific, Arthur A Dugoni School of Dentistry, USA. dchambers@pacfic.edu
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Chambers
mesh_terms: D002608:Charities; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics; D003815:Dentists / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D004990:Ethics, Dental; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations / Q000941:ethics; D011364:Professional Practice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D035502:Trust; D017664:Uncompensated Care