BACKGROUND: Children may be accompanied by various people when attending for dental treatment. Before treatment is started, there is a legal requirement that the operator obtain informed consent for the proposed procedure. In the case of minors, the person authorized to give consent (parental responsibility) is usually a parent. AIM: To ascertain if accompanying persons of children attending the Department of Paediatric Dentistry at the Eastman Dental Hospital, London were empowered to give consent for the child's dental treatment. DESIGN: A total of 250 accompanying persons of children attending were selected, over a 6-month period. A questionnaire was used to establish whether the accompanying person(s) were authorized to give consent. RESULT: The study showed that 12% of accompanying persons had no legal authority to give consent for the child's dental treatment. CONCLUSION: Clinicians need to be aware of the status of persons accompanying children to ensure valid consent is obtained.
BACKGROUND:Children may be accompanied by various people when attending for dental treatment. Before treatment is started, there is a legal requirement that the operator obtain informed consent for the proposed procedure. In the case of minors, the person authorized to give consent (parental responsibility) is usually a parent. AIM: To ascertain if accompanying persons of children attending the Department of Paediatric Dentistry at the Eastman Dental Hospital, London were empowered to give consent for the child's dental treatment. DESIGN: A total of 250 accompanying persons of children attending were selected, over a 6-month period. A questionnaire was used to establish whether the accompanying person(s) were authorized to give consent. RESULT: The study showed that 12% of accompanying persons had no legal authority to give consent for the child's dental treatment. CONCLUSION: Clinicians need to be aware of the status of persons accompanying children to ensure valid consent is obtained.
Authors: Lucas G Abreu; Camilo A Melgaço; Mauro H N G Abreu; Elizabeth M B Lages; Saul M Paiva Journal: Angle Orthod Date: 2014-04-24 Impact factor: 2.079