should the dentist disclose the complication to the…
Paediatric dentistry questions combine clinical management with age-appropriate considerations — LA dosing by weight, behaviour management. This exam-level vignette tests your ability to work through clinical details and arrive at the correct management.
During a lower wisdom tooth extraction, a dentist fractures the lingual cortical plate. The patient is still under local anaesthesia and unaware of the complication. The dentist manages the fracture surgically and believes the outcome will likely be satisfactory, but is uncertain about whether temporary paraesthesia may result. The dentist considers waiting until the follow-up appointment in one week to assess the outcome before discussing the complication with the patient. When should the dentist disclose the complication to the patient?
- A. At the one-week follow-up, once the clinical outcome is clear — disclosing now would cause unnecessary anxiety about a complication that may resolve spontaneously
- B. Only if the patient develops symptoms such as paraesthesia — disclosing a complication that resolves without sequelae would erode trust unnecessarily
- C. As promptly and fully as possible, explaining what happened, how it was managed, and the anticipated short-term and long-term consequences
- D. Within 48 hours, after consulting with the practice's medicolegal adviser about how to word the disclosure to minimise liability exposure
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Show the answer and cited explanation
Section 3.10 sets out the open disclosure obligations sequentially: recognise what has happened (3.10a), take immediate action to rectify if possible (3.10b), explain to the patient as promptly and fully as possible what has happened and the anticipated short- and long-term consequences (3.10c). The word 'promptly' precludes waiting for the follow-up or for symptoms to appear. Option A delays disclosure to manage the dentist's comfort, not the patient's right to information. Option B makes disclosure conditional on adverse outcomes — the Code requires disclosure of the event itself, not just its consequences. Option D introduces a delay for legal positioning that is inconsistent with 'prompt' disclosure.
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