Discussions leading to the patient’s informed consent for treatment are important in many ways.

You can help ensure that your patients feel comfortable about accepting proposed treatment by thoroughly discussing all the elements of the treatment with them and obtaining their informed consent. Put together a summary of the items discussed, ask the patient to sign it, and then give the patient a copy.

The discussion and informed consent document are also helpful if a problem occurs during or after treatment, because a well-informed patient is more likely to maintain confidence in the dentist than a patient who had no idea that a problem might arise.

Below are four basic topics you can use to structure your discussion with the patient. These topics can also be used to create an outline for your informed consent document.

• Risks: Explain the risks of proposed treatment (for example, sinus perforation or nerve damage during an extraction), as well as the risks of doing nothing. Additionally, help patients understand how these risks might affect their overall health.

• Benefits: Be specific about why a certain treatment is proposed (for example, a fixed bridge versus a removable partial denture versus implants), including the advantages for health, functionality and esthetics.

• Alternatives: In cases where alternatives exist that may reduce the cost, discomfort, completion time or other concerns, the patient should be offered such choices (for example, restoration of a tooth with a direct amalgam or composite restoration, an inlay/onlay or a full crown).

• Costs: Discuss the costs associated with the recommended treatment and any subsequent treatment that would be necessary (for example, the cost of a crown that is placed after a root canal is provided).

A signed informed consent document that records the treatment discussion between dentist and patient is a valuable component of the overall quality of care that is delivered to each patient. (If the patient refuses to sign an informed consent document, the refusal should be noted on the document and filed with the patient’s records.)