ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN ORTHODONTICS AND DENTOFACIAL ORTHOPAEDICS

Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopaedics is an extremely complex medical specialty that involves the triad doctor - minor patient - legal tutor. Any treatment plan should be supported by clinical and paraclinical determinations and the accurate therapeutic decision must be well reasoned. According to the European Community jurisdiction, the Romanian Law 95/2006 provides that a written consent shall be obtained from patients or legal tutors "in case of undergoing methods of prevention, diagnosis and treatment with potential risk to patients [1] “. It is compulsory to inform them on the medical diagnosis, the proposed treatment with possible alternatives, if any, and of the consequences of treatment compliance or refusal [2].  Information about risks of the proposed treatment,  involvement of third parties, therapeutic means,  limits of confidentiality and fees is essential [3]. Minor patients must be involved in the decision making process according to their ability of understanding [4,5], the final decision to accept the treatment belonging to parents (the agreement of one of them is sufficient) or to the legal tutor and this consent must be expressed in a written form [1]. The orthodontist will explain the meaning of each item in the informed consent to the signer, taking into account his/her ability of understanding and ensuring that all legal details have been correctly assimilated.