Academic Catalog

D H 332: ETHICS, LAW & BUSINESS PRACTICES

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2026
Units: 3
Hours: 3 lecture per week (36 total per quarter)
Advisory: Not open to students with credit in D H 64.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Non-GE
Transferable: CSU
Grade Type: Letter Grade Only
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Apply all six steps of the Six-Step Decision Making Model given a legal or ethical dilemma, to identify relevant evidence, legal facts, and ethical principles, and justify an appropriate decision with supporting rationale, achieving a minimum score of 85% using a rubric.
  • Create a final e-portfolio that demonstrates competency in the four dental hygiene competencies--Dental Hygiene Process of Care, Health Education Strategies, Infection & Hazard Controls, and Legal & Ethical Principles--by achieving a minimum score of 85% on a faculty-developed rubric assessing content, accuracy, critical thinking, and professional presentation.

Description

This course provides an in-depth study of ethics, jurisprudence, business practices, and policy development for oral health care professionals. Students will explore current societal and professional issues and evaluate their impact on dental hygiene practice, business operations, and leadership within the oral health care industry. Special emphasis is placed on understanding California Dental Practice Act and ethical standards relevant to dental hygiene practice. This course prepares students for the California Dental Hygiene Law & Ethics examination, a requirement for licensure as a Registered Dental Hygienist. Intended for students in the Dental Hygiene Baccalaureate Degree Program; enrollment is limited to students accepted in the program.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Apply ethical principles and a structured decision-making model to identify, analyze, and resolve ethical dilemmas encountered in dental hygiene case studies.
  2. Describe the legal responsibilities and scope of practice of the licensed dental hygienist as found in the California Dental Practice Act.
  3. Analyze dental practice situations where malpractice might occur and discuss risk management strategies.
  4. Analyze the expanded roles and career opportunities for dental hygienists.
  5. Assess current issues related to the business practices in dentistry and the implications of these issues to the profession of dental hygiene.
  6. Evaluate the management process in dental healthcare settings and analyze its impact on organizational performance, including patient care quality, staff efficiency, and overall service delivery.
  7. Interpret and evaluate financial statements as part of a registered dental hygienist in alternative practice business decision making.

Course Content

  1. Ethics
    1. Ethical theories
      1. Utilitarian
      2. Deontology
      3. Virtue ethics
    2. Factors that influence ethical decision making
    3. Ethical case study analysis
    4. American Dental Hygiene Association Code of Ethics
      1. Patient autonomy
      2. Societal trust
      3. Confidentiality
      4. Non-maleficence
      5. Beneficence
      6. Justice and fairness
      7. Veracity
    5. American Dental Association Code of Ethics
      1. Patient autonomy
      2. Non-maleficence
      3. Beneficence
      4. Justice
      5. Veracity
  2. Jurisprudence
    1. Civil law and dentistry
      1. Contract law
      2. Tort law
      3. Negligence
      4. Liabilities in dentistry
        1. Breach of contract
        2. Maligning a patient
        3. Permitting a hazard
        4. Technical assault
        5. Malpractice
    2. Standards of care
      1. Definition
      2. Informed consent
      3. Abandonment
      4. Referral
      5. Reasonable results
      6. Patient privacy
      7. Instructions to patients
    3. Dental Practice Act
      1. Allowable duties
      2. Supervision
        1. General supervision
        2. Direct supervision
        3. Violations of the Dental Practice Act
          1. Board of Dental Examiners authority to discipline licensees
          2. Unprofessional conduct
          3. Quality of care
          4. Patient relations
          5. Drugs
          6. Fraud
          7. Record keeping
          8. Employment and auxiliary issues
    4. Dental Hygiene Board of California
      1. Role
      2. Licensure
        1. Continuing education requirements
        2. Suspended, probationary, and revoked licenses
    5. California Department of Consumer Affairs
      1. Role
      2. Reporting of unprofessional conduct
    6. Regulatory compliance and safety standards in dental practice
      1. Medical waste management
      2. Radiation safety
      3. Hazardous waste management
      4. Cal-OSHA
  3. Risk management
    1. Patient records
      1. Guidelines for record entries and documentation
      2. Altered records
      3. Ownership of records
      4. Safeguarding records
      5. Compliance with requests for patient records
    2. Risk prevention
      1. Professional behavior
      2. Communication
      3. Maintenance of a safe clinical environment for patient and employee
      4. Mutual respect
      5. Patient complaints
  4. Dental hygiene business and career options
    1. Roles of the dental hygienist
      1. Practitioner/clinician
      2. Educator
      3. Change agent
      4. Marketing and sales
      5. Research
      6. Manager
      7. Consumer advocate
      8. Public health
    2. The resume and employment interview
      1. Preparation
      2. Appropriate questions to be asked
      3. Locating sources of employment
      4. An employment contract
      5. Employee/employer rights
  5. Current issues in health care delivery
    1. Alternative practice models
    2. Future trends in oral healthcare
    3. Affordable Care Act
    4. Access to care issues
    5. Disparities
    6. Financial barriers
    7. Government programs and assistance
    8. Geographic and organizational barriers
    9. Social and cultural barriers
  6. Management and leadership in dental practice settings
    1. Leadership vs. management
    2. Negotiations
    3. Interviewing
    4. Employment contracts, compensation, benefits
    5. Employee evaluations
    6. Public relations
    7. Advocacy
  7. Finance and marketing for a registered dental hygienist in alternative practice
    1. Successful marketing
    2. Financial planning for business
    3. Financial statements
    4. Financial ratios, trends, and cash flows for decision making
    5. Planning process and setting objectives

Lab Content

Not applicable.

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

1. When taught as a hybrid course for the lecture content, access to computer with email software and hardware; email address.
2. Multimedia classroom; library with dental and bioethical journals.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Preparation of a professional employment resume
Written ethical/legal critical analysis
Ethics and jurisprudence examination
E-portfolio submission and final review of DH competency portfolio
Participation in online discussion forums
Business plan and financial statement evaluation

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lecture
Discussion
E-portfolio
Individual and and collaborative activities in and out of class

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Bowen, D., and J. Pieren. Darby and Walsh Dental Hygiene Theory and Practice, 6th ed.. 2024.

State of California Publications. State of California, Dental Practice Act, current edition. .

Minihan-Anderson, Kristin. Ethics & Law in Dental Hygiene, 4th ed.. 2023.

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Weekly reading assignment in relevant textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, and current periodicals.
  2. Resume and cover letter.
  3. Write paper on problem solving an ethical/legal dilemma.
  4. Evaluate business case studies, related to medicine and dentistry.
  5. Analyze a financial statement.
  6. Work with a independently or in a small group to prepare and present a business plan.
  7. E-portfolio submission on dental hygiene law and ethics.

Discipline(s)

Dental Technology