Assessment study of the views on the importance of informed consent in the medical act in dental health services in Timis County

Abstract

Background: Informed consent is an ethical concept that is codified by law and must be put into daily practice in every health institution. Informed consent is based on the concept of respect for autonomy, which gives adults the right to govern their lives according to their own values and preferences. In Romania, for any type of clinical investigation, medical care or potentially risky treatment we need the written consent of the patient, certified by his/her signature. The objective of the study was to evaluate the signing and use of informed consent to dental health care in Timis County. Material and method: A retrospective observational epidemiological study was conducted, in which we aimed to evaluate the signing and use of informed consent in current dental practice in Timis County. The research method used was the use of a questionnaire survey, which was put online on a group of dentists in Timis County, between March and May 2022. Results: The habit of signing informed consent in dental services in Timis County is not present in 45% of respondents. Conclusions: Our study revealed that the use of informed consent by patients in Timis County is not necessarily a practice habit, especially in rural areas.