title: The changing face of informed consent.
abstract: All healthcare professionals are required to gain a patient's consent before proceeding with examination, investigation or treatment. Gone are the days when consent was about protecting the professional. Following a recent landmark Supreme Court case, 'informed' consent is now embedded in UK law. Patients have the right to high-quality information that allows them to be involved in making decisions about their care. Dentists have a duty of care to provide this information and guide their patients through the process. This paper reviews key ethical, legal, and professional guidance available to dentists about informed consent and concludes by discussing how shared decision-making is a model of healthcare delivery with much to offer dentist and patient alike.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Surgical Research, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, 39 Whatley Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2PS.
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Main
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, Liverpool University Dental Hospital, Liverpool.
authors.forename: S R L
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Adair
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D003729:Dental Care; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D028701:Patient Rights; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations