Ethical Decision Making in Dental Hygiene
By Michele Carr, RDH, MA
Within the discipline of philosophy, ethics is the branch that focuses on morality. Ethics is concerned with studying human behavior and the principles that regulate it. Many theories describe ethics and moral reasoning, but when individuals are asked to define ethics, most respond with a version of “doing the right thing.” The core values established by the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) are designed to help practitioners “do the right thing.” Table 1 lists these core values.
