Is not making overdentures breaching the standard of care?

[Garett24]

If the McGill Consensus states that the "standard of care" for an edentulous patient is mandibular overdentures and one were to fabricate conventional dentures would one be breaching the standard of care? Why is standard of care so difficult to understand and define? My understanding is that the standard of care is a vague set of rules where the only way a breach is discovered is if some expert witness in court convinces the jury what you did was wrong.

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[321931]

Give patient all options for edentulous mouth, document, give costs and let the patient choose. If the patient chooses a regular denture... then it’s their choice.

Just like how an implant is the best option to restore a missing tooth, you give them the option of bridge, rpd or no treatment.

By the way the easiest thing I ever did with dentures was refer out. More headache then worth it.

 

[luisfigo]

Standard of care means that every patient gets your best effort, it is the patient who ultimately chooses the treatment, you just have to give them options.

 

[Vicviper]

I work at a community health center, 90% of my patients can't afford implants, should I simply refuse to make them a complete lower denture, which for them would be free? Implants are no where near the standard of care at this moment - if you're referring to anything less than that being "Below standard of care" for ethical reasons. I don't think an implant becoming a true standard of care - below which is malfeasance - within the next 25+ years.

My take on standard of care is doing things that will not harm the patient or not leaving things out that doing so will harm the patient. IE - using a dam or similar form of isolation for RCT, sterilizing our instruments, perio charting for adult exams, checking the margins before cementing a crown, cleaning excess cement, using a temp crown, etc.