This is the current release of the guideline.

This guideline updates a previous version: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD). Guideline on informed consent. Chicago (IL): American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD); 2005. 2 p. [11 references]

Procedures for which informed consent is necessary

To provide recommendations for obtaining informed consent from patients receiving oral health care

Patient or, in the case of a minor or incompetent adult, the custodial parent or legal guardian who is providing informed consent for oral health care

Adequate informed consent

The revision included a systematic literature search of the MEDLINE/PubMed electronic database using the following parameters: Terms: "informed consent," "pediatric consent," "pediatric informed consent," and "consent"; Fields: all fields; Limits: within the last 10 years, humans, English, review of legal cases. One hundred seven articles matched these criteria. Papers for review were chosen from this list and from references within selected articles.

Twelve electronic and hand-searched articles met the defined criteria and were included.

Not applicable

Not stated

The oral health policies and clinical guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) are developed under the direction of the Board of Trustees, utilizing the resources and expertise of its membership operating through the Council on Clinical Affairs (CCA).

Proposals to develop or modify policies and guidelines may originate from 4 sources:

1. The officers or trustees acting at any meeting of the Board of Trustees
2. A council, committee, or task force in its report to the Board of Trustees
3. Any member of the AAPD acting through the Reference Committee hearing of the General Assembly at the Annual Session
4. Officers, trustees, council and committee chairs, or other participants at the AAPD's Annual Strategic Planning Session

Regardless of the source, proposals are considered carefully, and those deemed sufficiently meritorious by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees are referred to the CCA for development or review/revision.

Once a charge (directive from the Board of Trustees) for development or review/revision of an oral health policy or clinical guideline is sent to the CCA, it is assigned to 1 or more members of the CCA for completion. CCA members are instructed to follow the specified format for a policy or guideline. All oral health policies and clinical guidelines are based on 2 sources of evidence: (1) the scientific literature; and (2) experts in the field. Members may call upon any expert as a consultant to the council to provide expert opinion. The Council on Scientific Affairs provides input as to the scientific validity of a policy or guideline.

The CCA meets on an interim basis (midwinter) to discuss proposed oral health policies and clinical guidelines. Each new or reviewed/revised policy and guideline is reviewed, discussed, and confirmed by the entire council.

Not applicable

A formal cost analysis was not performed and published cost analyses were not reviewed.

Once developed by the Council on Clinical Affairs (CCA), the proposed policy or guideline is submitted for the consideration of the Board of Trustees. While the board may request revision, in which case it is returned to the council for modification, once accepted by majority vote of the board, it is referred for Reference Committee hearing at the upcoming Annual Session. At the Reference Committee hearing, the membership may provide comment or suggestion for alteration of the document before presentation to the General Assembly. The final document then is presented for ratification by a majority vote of the membership present and voting at the General Assembly. If accepted by the General Assembly, either as proposed or as amended by that body, the document then becomes the official American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) oral health policy or clinical guideline for publication in the AAPD's Reference Manual and on the AAPD's Web site.

Informed consent is the process of providing the patient or, in the case of a minor or incompetent adult, the custodial parent or legal guardian with relevant information regarding diagnosis and treatment needs so that an educated decision regarding treatment can be made by the patient or custodial parent or legal guardian. Statutes and case law of individual states govern informed consent. Some states allow oral discussions, which should be documented in the medical record, while others may require written consent. Oral health practitioners should review applicable state laws to determine their level of compliance. Consent forms should be procedure specific, utilize simple terms, and avoid overly broad statements.

When a practitioner utilizes an "informed consent" form, the following should be included:

1. Name and date of birth of pediatric patient
2. Name and relationship to the pediatric patient/legal basis on which the person is consenting on behalf of the patient
3. Description of the procedure in simple terms
4. Disclosure of known adverse risk(s) of the proposed treatment specific to that procedure
5. Professionally recognized or evidence-based alternative treatment(s) to recommended therapy and risk(s)
6. Place for custodial parent or legal guardian to indicate that all questions have been asked and adequately answered
7. Places for signatures of the custodial parent or legal guardian, dentist, and an office staff member as a witness

None provided

The type of evidence supporting the recommendations is not specifically stated for each recommendation.

When data did not appear sufficient or were inconclusive, recommendations were based upon expert and/or consensus opinion by experienced researchers and legal practitioners.

Not stated

The guideline reflects that informed consent is governed by the statutes and case laws of individual states and that oral care providers should review applicable state law and regulations.

An implementation strategy was not provided.

Not applicable: The guideline was not adapted from another source.

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry

Council on Clinical Affairs

Not stated

Council members and consultants derive no financial compensation from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry for their participation and are asked to disclose potential conflicts of interest.

This is the current release of the guideline.

This guideline updates a previous version: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD). Guideline on informed consent. Chicago (IL): American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD); 2005. 2 p. [11 references]

Electronic copies: Available from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Web site .

Print copies: Available from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, 211 East Chicago Avenue, Suite 700, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

The following is available:

• Overview. American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry 2010-11 definitions, oral health policies, and clinical guidelines. Chicago (IL): American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; 2010. 2 p. Electronic copies: Available in Portable Document Format (PDF) from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Web site .

None available

This NGC summary was completed by ECRI Institute on August 7, 2007. The information was verified by the guideline developer on August 23, 2007. This NGC summary was updated by ECRI Institute on December 30, 2010. The updated information was verified by the guideline developer on May 9, 2011.

This summary is based on the original guideline, which is subject to the guideline developer's copyright restrictions.