Paternalism, risk and patient choice

When patients request inappropriate dental treatment, the dentist must decide how to balance a concern with patients' well-being with respect for their choices. The usual paternalist inclinations found in clinical practice and in the literature are rejected. Only in certain situations is the dentist morally justified in setting aside patients' treatment requests. This position is supported by the analysis of a clinical case. There are also implications as to how dentists should respond to colleagues who provide treatments some regard as questionable.