1. Position Summary
Dental practitioners must exercise awareness and accountability in preserving professional boundaries in their practice.
2. Position
Dental practitioners must be aware of their responsibilities regarding professional boundaries and ensure that those boundaries are maintained.
Out of necessity, it is appropriate for dental practitioners living and working in a regional or remote community to have professional and social relationships with patients.
The consent of the patient should not be a defence of a violated boundary.
3. Background
An appropriate dental practitioner-patient relationship is central to the practice of dentistry and is essential for the delivery of high-quality dental care.
The relationship between dental practitioners and their patients involves a unique position of trust. The quality of this relationship is influenced by the level of trust between them.
There can be a power imbalance between the dental practitioner and patient due to the dental practitioner’s position of authority and the patient’s vulnerability. This can occur as a result of many factors including an unequal knowledge base and a possible need to quickly establish a level of mutual trust.
Many dentists provide dental treatment for family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances.
The Code of Conduct of the Board describes the professional behaviour requirements for dental practitioners. Boundary violations may include:
• using a professional position to establish or pursue a sexual, exploitative, unrelated business or otherwise inappropriate relationship with anybody under a practitioner’s care.
• the expression of personal beliefs to patients in ways that exploit their vulnerability or that are likely to cause them distress. Boundary violations may develop gradually, arising from repeated boundary crossings over time rather than a single incident.
4. Definitions
The BOARD is the Dental Board of Australia.
BOUNDARY CROSSING occurs when a dentist initiates a behaviour or allows a behaviour to persist in a relationship that compromises or sets a future course that compromises the dentist’s relationship with their patient.
BOUNDARY VIOLATION occurs when the nature of the therapeutic relationship moves from a professional relationship to a damaging personal interaction or behaviour, including sexual and non-sexual misconduct.
PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARY is the implicit or explicit demarcation separating the professional relationship with a patient from other personal or business dealings. This means that clear separation that should exist between professional conduct aimed at meeting the health needs of patients and your own personal views, feelings and relationships which are not relevant to the therapeutic relationship.
PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP is an ongoing interaction between two people that observes a set of established boundaries or limits that are deemed appropriate under governing ethical and statutory standards.
5. Last review
September 2025
6. Next review due
September 2030
This Policy Statement is linked to
6.13 Partnering for Better Health – Dentists and Patients
