Basic Knowledge of Medical Ethics Among Dental Students a Preliminary Study

Medical Ethics deals with the moral principles which guide members of the medical profession in their professional dealings with each other, their patients and also the state. Dental surgeons registered with the Sri Lanka Medical Council are expected to abide by the principals of ethics accepted and practiced by the Sri Lanka Medical Council. The doctor-patient relationship is the central focus of ethics in Medicine and Dentistry. Reasons for this are that ethics has to do with actions involving help or harm to others. In Medicine and Dentistry the doctor is the agent and the principal recipient is the patient. Control of the relationship results from the power of the doctor, and ethical standards help guide this power. Most interactions in the health care delivery system have over a long period evolved, some aspects of these interactions are the, doctor-patient relationship providing continuity, privacy, development of mutual responsibility and others. There are rapid changes in the extension of this relationship that bear on these interactions in significant ways making it more complex, like third party payers, insurance, policies of professional groups, private practice, medical institutions, etc. The image of doctor-patient relationship has to be well established and improved in our country for well being of our society.