Patient Bill of Rights

Our Dental School accepts all patients with dental needs which are considered appropriate for teaching students contemporary techniques of dentistry regardless of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.

However, we reserve the right to refuse treatment, except to relieve pain or protect life, to any person for the following reasons:

• The patient (or his/her immediate family) has a history of not fulfilling their financial obligations to the dental school.
• The patient (or his/her immediate family) has a history of not abiding by the patient responsibilities listed below.
• The patient’s conduct is disruptive or compromises the rights of others.

We want you to know that you have rights as our patient and encourage you to let us know if you feel we have not lived up to our pledge or if you feel that your rights were not honored.

After your initial appointment, you will have one or more additional appointments to determine your personal treatment plan depending on the complexity of your case.  Two or more treatment plans may be presented.  One will be an optimal plan to provide the complete restoration of your mouth.  A second plan may be presented which will offer you a less expensive alternative.  It may include amalgam (silver) rather than more expensive restorative materials, or the use of removable appliances rather than those which remain attached to your teeth.

A third plan to provide the minimal treatment necessary to eliminate disease in your mouth may be provided.  Please bear in mind that many of these less expensive alternatives also represent less permanent solutions to your dental health problems.  To further assist you, treatment may be able to be phased so that the better treatment can be more affordable.

Each treatment plan will be thoroughly explained to you so that you understand what you can expect, how much the treatment will cost, and the risks both physically and financially. 

If at any time, you feel that your rights and requests are not being honored and you cannot resolve the situation with your dentist or staff person, you shall have access to a patient liaison to assist you in the process.

To reach a liaison, please call 612-625-4994.

Your Rights

• You have the right to considerate and respectful care.
• You have the right to complete and current information concerning the diagnosis and treatment of your dental condition, including its prognosis, in terms you can understand.
• You have the right to request a transfer to another student if you are dissatisfied with your student dentist.  However, requests to be transferred to another student on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, ethnic or national origin will not be honored.  Requests for transfer to another student are to be made with the Patient Assignment Office in conjunction with the supervising faculty.
• You have the right to know the detailed treatment plan(s), risks, benefits and alternatives for your dental condition, including estimated costs, sufficient to give us your signed informed consent before any treatment is started.  Life threatening emergency care could be an exception.
• You have the right to refuse treatment suggested to you.  In that event, you will be advised of the consequences of your decision, including the possibility that your care may be deemed a non-teaching case.
• You have the right to privacy concerning your dental treatment.  Discussions concerning your care will remain confidential between you, your dental student, attending specialty residents (if any), and the supervising faculty and/or appropriate staff.
• You have the right to access your dental records upon request, and to have the information explained or interpreted as necessary.  Your record will not be released without your written consent, except when required by law or a third party payer contract.  A fee will apply to copy your records.
• You have a right to continuity and completion of treatment.  At the completion of all active care, Quality Assurance may perform a final treatment assessment.  The patient’s chart will be moved to a recall status and every three to six months you may schedule a recall appointment for an examination.   The teeth are cleaned and preventive care is provided as needed.  These recall procedures are provided by dental students or dental hygiene students under the supervision of faculty.  A patient who develops new treatment needs may be treated by the assigned student dentist or reassigned to another student dentist.  On weekends and holidays, patients of record may be referred to the emergency clinic at Fairview University Clinic on campus.  A standard hospital fee for emergency visits in addition to the dental clinic’s procedure fee may apply.  These fees are the patient’s responsibility.