I enjoyed reading Dr. Murphy’s views. Of course, he and I agree that dentistry subsumes more than technical expertise. However, the ADA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct call on dentists to take the "long view" on behalf of our patients and the public we serve.
As dentists, we are uniquely positioned, with special knowledge and skills in dentistry. This helps us to distinguish whether, and how, a colleague’s various advanced degrees, honors and professional achievements impact his or her qualifications in the clinical practice of dentistry.
Most patients, on the other hand, are likely to believe that the degrees listed in an advertisement with dental services have some bearing on the dentist’s qualifications to render oral health care.
Patients are sometimes confused about the meaning of "DMD" degrees. Some confuse the abbreviation of a professional corporation ("PC") in an advertisement with an advanced academic degree. Consider patients for whom oral health literacy is a challenge.
There is a disparity of knowledge about dentistry between dentists and the lay public. This puts dentists in a special position of trust with society, which we honor through the ADA Code. The Advisory Opinion 5.F.3 states in relevant part:
The use of a nonhealth degree in an announcement to the public may be a representation which is misleading because the public is likely to assume that any degree announced is related to the qualifications of the dentist as a practitioner.
It is certainly possible that, where consistent with state law, a nonhealth degree could be conveyed in a dental advertisement to the public in a manner that is not misleading as to the dentist’s qualifications. At a minimum, to meet the spirit of this advisory opinion, the degree would need to be written out, rather than abbreviated.
The background report on Advisory Opinion 5.F.3, written by the ADA Council on Ethics, Bylaws and Judicial Affairs, is available at "www.ada.org/prof/prac/law/code/principles_rep5f3.asp".
My thanks to Dr. Murphy for writing.
