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Profession-specific course

Ethics and Ethical Standards for Dental Practitioners in Australia

Applying the Dental Board's Code to Consent, Fees, Advertising and Care

  • 2 CPD hoursEstimated learning time
  • 15-question assessmentPass mark 80%
  • Online, self-pacedStart any time
  • CertificateFor your CPD records

Written for

About this course

Dental practice puts ethics under unusual pressure. Most care is privately paid, many treatments are elective, several reasonable options often exist for the same problem, and the practitioner who recommends treatment is usually the one paid to provide it. Add production targets, social media marketing, aesthetic trends and anxious patients, and the space between good intentions and good decisions can narrow quickly.

This course gives dental practitioners a practical way to work through those pressures. It applies the shared Code of conduct that the Dental Board of Australia uses, the National Law's advertising rules and Ahpra's 2026 interim guidance on financial and commercial conflicts of interest to the decisions you make every day: how to present a plan, how to talk about money, when to say no to an aesthetic request, how to describe another dentist's work, and what to do when an employer's expectations clash with a patient's interests.

Each section uses Australian dental scenarios, plain-language comparisons and short reflection prompts. You finish with a reflective account and a set of questions you can use the next time a decision feels uncomfortable. The course is deliberately practical: rather than restating principles in the abstract, it shows what ethical reasoning sounds like in a treatment discussion, a fee conversation, a marketing meeting and a difficult conversation with a practice owner, so you can carry the same approach into situations the course does not describe.

Written and reviewed by

Written by

Dr Hannah Whitmore PhD, MSc, RN

Nursing Education & Professional Practice

Reviewed by (legal reviewer)

Professor James Ellington LLB, LLM, PhD

Healthcare Law, Ethics & Professional Regulation

Reviewed by (editorial team)

Editorial Team Member

Healthcare ethics, professional conduct, patient safety and evidence-based education.

Last reviewed

Our authors and reviewers check course content for accuracy and currency. Completing a course does not guarantee any particular outcome with Ahpra, a National Board, a tribunal or an employer.

Who this course is for

  • General dentists in private, corporate or public practice
  • Dental specialists who want to revisit consent, fees and advertising
  • Dental hygienists, dental therapists and oral health therapists
  • Dental prosthetists who discuss treatment options and fees with patients
  • Practice owners and clinical leads who set targets or approve marketing
  • Recent graduates navigating commercial pressure for the first time
  • Overseas-qualified dental practitioners adjusting to Australian expectations

What you’ll learn

  • Present plans patients can genuinely choose

    Offer all reasonable options, including monitoring or no treatment, with material risks, costs and time to decide.

  • Talk about money honestly

    Give written itemised estimates, re-consent when costs change, and disclose conflicts of interest directly.

  • Advertise without crossing the line

    Use genuine images, accurate titles and stated offer terms, and avoid clinical testimonials and implied specialist status.

  • Hold your ground under pressure

    Use a structured method to reason through dilemmas and respond to employer, colleague and patient pressure.

Learning objectives

  • Explain why fee-for-service, elective and aesthetic care create distinctive ethical pressures in dentistry.
  • Apply a structured method of ethical reasoning to dilemmas in dental practice.
  • Obtain valid consent that presents all reasonable options and material risks, including for children and adults with impaired capacity.
  • Provide informed financial consent and manage the conflict of interest in recommending and providing treatment.
  • Apply minimal intervention principles and approach elective aesthetic treatment ethically.
  • Advertise dental services honestly in line with section 133 and the Ahpra advertising guidelines.
  • Provide fair, non-discriminatory and culturally safe care, and respond to safeguarding concerns.
  • Act with ethical courage when facing commercial pressure or concerns about a colleague.

Scenarios covered

Practice situations you reason through, step by step, in the course.

  • The production target

    A practice asks you to convert hygiene visits into restorative plans. Use the same-patient test to separate clinical need from commercial pressure.

  • Veneers before the holiday

    A young adult wants ten veneers on healthy teeth within three weeks. Work through motivation, alternatives, irreversibility and time to decide.

  • The cost that doubles mid-treatment

    A root canal reveals the tooth needs a crown. Learn how to re-consent financially without abandoning the patient.

  • Sealants to use the cap

    An oral health therapist is told to seal every molar for children under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. Consider clinical need, honesty and employer pressure.

  • The tearful reveal video

    A practice posts an emotional veneer reveal with a booking link. Apply the testimonial and unreasonable expectation rules.

  • End-of-day bookings for hepatitis C

    A receptionist restricts appointments for a patient with a blood-borne virus. Examine discrimination and standard precautions.

Course contents

7 sections, 26 lessons, then the final assessment.

  1. Section 1: Why Ethics in Dentistry Is Distinctive3 lessons
    • 1.1 The Ethical Shape of the Dental Relationship
    • 1.2 Ethical Principles and the Shared Code
    • 1.3 A Method for Ethical Reasoning
  2. Section 2: Autonomy and Consent in the Dental Chair4 lessons
    • 2.1 What Makes Consent Valid
    • 2.2 Children and Young People
    • 2.3 Capacity, Older Patients and Aged Care
    • 2.4 Refusal, Withdrawal and Dental Anxiety
  3. Section 3: Fees, Financial Consent and Conflicts of Interest4 lessons
    • 3.1 Informed Financial Consent
    • 3.2 Recommending and Providing: The Built-in Conflict
    • 3.3 Discounts, Payment Plans and Third-Party Finance
    • 3.4 Honest Claiming
  4. Section 4: Clinical Judgement, Aesthetics and Honesty About Outcomes4 lessons
    • 4.1 Need, Want and Minimal Intervention
    • 4.2 Ethics of Aesthetic and Cosmetic Dentistry
    • 4.3 Second Opinions and Other Practitioners' Work
    • 4.4 Honesty When Outcomes Are Poor
  5. Section 5: Advertising and Honest Representation3 lessons
    • 5.1 The Ethics Behind the Advertising Rules
    • 5.2 Images, Testimonials and Social Media
    • 5.3 Titles, Qualifications and Offers
  6. Section 6: Justice, Access and Vulnerable Patients4 lessons
    • 6.1 Fairness and Access to Care
    • 6.2 Discrimination and Patients With Blood-Borne Viruses
    • 6.3 Culturally Safe Care
    • 6.4 Suspected Abuse and Neglect
  7. Section 7: Dilemmas, Boundaries and Ethical Courage4 lessons
    • 7.1 Family, Friends, Gifts and Dual Relationships
    • 7.2 Concerns About a Colleague
    • 7.3 Commercial Pressure and the Employed Practitioner
    • 7.4 Bringing It Together: Worked Dilemmas
  8. Final assessment and written reflection15 questions

Assessment and certificate

  1. Work through the course

    Study each section at your own pace, including the case illustrations and apply-it questions.

  2. Pass the assessment

    15 scenario-based questions. You need 12 correct (80%) to pass.

  3. Write your reflection

    A short written reflection on how the learning applies to your own practice.

  4. Download your certificate

    Shows your name, the course, the date and 2 CPD hours. Anyone can check it on our verification page.

What you keep for your CPD records

  • A certificate of completion recording approximately 2 CPD hours of learning
  • A written reflective account on consent, conflicts of interest and advertising in your own practice
  • A quick-reference guide of ethical questions for everyday dental decisions
  • A worked-dilemma table you can use for team discussions

How certificates and CPD records workVerify a certificate

Primary sources

The course is built on these official documents. Check them for the current version.

Questions about this course

Is this course recognised by Ahpra or the Dental Board?

No. It is independent education: not accredited, not approved and not endorsed by Ahpra, the Dental Board of Australia or any professional body. You record the time you actually spend and decide whether it fits your CPD plan.

How many CPD hours is it?

It is designed for about 2 hours of learning, including the reflective account and a 15-question assessment. Record the time you genuinely spend.

Does ethics count towards the Dental Board CPD requirement?

The Dental Board requires most CPD to be clinically or scientifically based, with a smaller portion able to cover non-scientific topics such as ethics and practice management. Check the current registration standard and decide where this course sits in your plan.

Is it suitable for hygienists, therapists and oral health therapists?

Yes. Consent, fees, advertising, discrimination and employer pressure apply across the dental team, and several scenarios feature oral health therapists and dental therapists.

Does it cover the 2026 conflicts of interest guidance?

Yes. It explains Ahpra's September 2026 interim guidance on managing financial or commercial conflicts of interest and applies it to production targets, finance offers and product sales.

How is this different from a dental professionalism course?

This course focuses on values and ethical reasoning: consent, honesty, conflicts and dilemmas. Scope of practice, records, CPD and other standards for practice are covered in a separate professionalism course.

Does it cover consent for children and patients with dementia?

Yes. A full section covers consent for children and mature minors, separated parents, adults with impaired capacity, substitute decision-makers under state and territory guardianship laws, aged care residents, refusal, withdrawal and consent before sedation.

What is the pass mark?

You need 12 out of 15 (80%) on scenario-based multiple-choice questions drawn from the course content.

Can I use it to meet a Board condition?

Only the Board can decide whether a course satisfies a condition or undertaking. Check with Ahpra and the Board, and with your lawyer or indemnity insurer, before relying on any course for that purpose.