Case Study: Your Dentist Until Death Do Us Part
Dr. Hernandez is a dentist in private practice in a small town. The local police contact her because they found a skull by the river that they suspect belongs to a person who was decapitated in a freak accident the year before. They know the body of the victim belongs to a patient of the doctor, so they hope she can identify the skull using dental records. The doctor is able to make the identification by comparing the teeth in the skull with dental records, including radiographs, progress notes, and a mold that was made of the patient’s teeth a couple of years before.
Discussion Questions
- Is identifying the skull inside or outside of the roles and responsibilities of dentistry? Explain your answer.
- In this case study, the patient is dead. Does it make sense to think about the professionals involved in this case as a healthcare team? Provide argument in favor and against this idea.
- If we can consider the professionals involved in this case a healthcare team, who should be part of it?
Case Study: Your Dentist Until Death Do Us Part
Dr. Hernandez is a dentist in private practice in a small town. The local police contact her because they found a skull by the river that they suspect belongs to a person who was decapitated in a freak accident the year before. They know the body of the victim belongs to a patient of the doctor, so they hope she can identify the skull using dental records. The doctor is able to make the identification by comparing the teeth in the skull with dental records, including radiographs, progress notes, and a mold that was made of the patient’s teeth a couple of years before.
Discussion Questions
- Is identifying the skull inside or outside of the roles and responsibilities of dentistry? Explain your answer.
- In this case study, the patient is dead. Does it make sense to think about the professionals involved in this case as a healthcare team? Provide argument in favor and against this idea.
- If we can consider the professionals involved in this case a healthcare team who should be part of it?