Which principle emphasizes doing good in dental practice?

The principle that emphasizes doing good in dental practice is beneficence. This principle focuses on actions that promote the well-being of patients, enhancing their health, comfort, and quality of life. In the context of dental practice, beneficence involves providing treatments and interventions that are intended to improve patient outcomes, prevent diseases, and support overall oral health.

By prioritizing beneficence, dental professionals commit to using their skills and knowledge to act in the best interests of their patients, ensuring that they not only address existing problems but also contribute positively to their patients’ overall health. This principle is fundamental to ethical decision-making in the dental field because it aligns with the goal of healthcare: to improve and maintain the health and welfare of individuals.

In contrast, the other principles, such as non-maleficence, which focuses on "do no harm," autonomy, which respects the patients' rights to make decisions about their own care, and veracity, which emphasizes honesty and truthfulness, play important roles in dental ethics as well, but they function alongside beneficence rather than directly emphasizing the act of doing good. Thus, beneficence stands out as the principle primarily concerned with the positive impact of dental practices on patients’ lives.