{"id":789,"date":"2017-07-12T15:08:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-12T19:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aae.org\/specialty\/?page_id=789"},"modified":"2023-11-28T08:23:46","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T14:23:46","slug":"informed-consent","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.aae.org\/specialty\/clinical-resources\/treatment-planning\/informed-consent\/","title":{"rendered":"Informed Consent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<p>Endodontists, like all health care providers, are legally required to obtain a patient&#8217;s informed consent before performing a procedure. Informed consent is governed by state law; your state dental association is the best source of specific information. The AAE also recommends that members consult with their professional liability carrier for state-specific guidance.<\/p>\n<p>The AAE provides this information as general background. It is not a substitute for legal counsel.<\/p>\n<p>To obtain informed consent of the patient, the endodontist must personally, in a face-to-face conversation, disclose the following information in language that is understandable to a lay person:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The diagnosis<\/li>\n<li>Nature of the proposed treatment or procedure<\/li>\n<li>Risks reasonably associated with the proposed treatment or procedure<\/li>\n<li>Prognosis after the proposed treatment or procedure<\/li>\n<li>Feasible alternatives to the proposed treatment or procedure<\/li>\n<li>Risks associated with declining treatment. &#8220;No treatment&#8221; is an alternative.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The endodontist also must provide an opportunity for the patient and\/or the patient&#8217;s guardian to ask questions about any of the above.<\/p>\n<p>A patient cannot provide informed consent if he\/she is unable to understand the information given and is not represented by a guardian. Examples include, but are not limited to, patients with limited English proficiency, hearing impaired, or elderly individuals with diminished capacity.<\/p>\n<p>The written consent form, with the patient&#8217;s signature, or that of a legal guardian if the patient is under age 18, documents that the endodontist discussed the procedure, risks, prognosis and alternatives. A written consent form is not a substitute for the endodontist&#8217;s in-person discussion with the patient. Because of the range of endodontic procedures performed and the variances in state law, there is not a &#8220;one size fits all&#8221; consent form. Although not necessarily a legal requirement, some forms require the provider&#8217;s signature, and\/or a witness to attest that the validity of the patient&#8217;s signature. In some states, a notation that consent was obtained may be required in the medical\/dental record.<\/p>\n<p>A thoughtful, well-documented dialogue between the endodontist and the patient can reduce misunderstandings and incidence of claims and suits alleging a lack of informed consent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aae.org\/specialty\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/10\/InformedConsentGuidelines_PositionStatement_v2.pdf\">AAE Position Statement on Informed Consent<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Endodontists, like all health care providers, are legally required to obtain a patient&#8217;s informed consent before performing a procedure. Informed consent is governed by state law; your state dental association&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":291,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-789","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Informed Consent - American Association of Endodontists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aae.org\/specialty\/clinical-resources\/treatment-planning\/informed-consent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Informed Consent - American Association of Endodontists\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Endodontists, like all health care providers, are legally required to obtain a patient&#8217;s informed consent before performing a procedure. 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