Beyond oral hygiene, are capacity-altering, biologically based interventions within the moral domain of dentistry?
Oral diseases such as dental caries (DC) and periodontitis are widely prevalent, and existing approaches to managing these conditions have only a limited effect. Accordingly, there is growing interest in the development of novel biological interventions (including, among others, CRISPR-Cas9) that mi...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2021
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| _version_ | 1826266672418258944 |
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| author | Neves, VCM Pugh, J Savulescu, J |
| author_facet | Neves, VCM Pugh, J Savulescu, J |
| author_sort | Neves, VCM |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Oral diseases such as dental caries (DC) and periodontitis are widely prevalent, and existing approaches to managing these conditions have only a limited effect. Accordingly, there is growing interest in the development of novel biological interventions (including, among others, CRISPR-Cas9) that might, in the future, be used to prevent the development of or cure these conditions. However, in addition to familiar concerns about using biological interventions in children who cannot provide valid consent, it is not clear whether the provision of these interventions would fall within the proper domain of dentistry. In this opinion paper, we defend the view that the provision of reasonably safe and effective novel biological interventions aimed at preventing DC and periodontitis should be understood to fall within the proper domain of dentistry. To do so, we first argue that their use would be consistent with existing practice in dentistry. We then argue that: i) they may substantially increase the recipient's wellbeing and future autonomy; and ii) that their use could constitute a form of indirect preventative medicine by addressing a threat to systemic health.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T20:42:30Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:34bc6111-ca10-42f5-a138-6636964f8e9e |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T20:42:30Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:34bc6111-ca10-42f5-a138-6636964f8e9e2022-03-26T13:27:52ZBeyond oral hygiene, are capacity-altering, biologically based interventions within the moral domain of dentistry?Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:34bc6111-ca10-42f5-a138-6636964f8e9eEnglishSymplectic ElementsSpringer Nature2021Neves, VCMPugh, JSavulescu, JOral diseases such as dental caries (DC) and periodontitis are widely prevalent, and existing approaches to managing these conditions have only a limited effect. Accordingly, there is growing interest in the development of novel biological interventions (including, among others, CRISPR-Cas9) that might, in the future, be used to prevent the development of or cure these conditions. However, in addition to familiar concerns about using biological interventions in children who cannot provide valid consent, it is not clear whether the provision of these interventions would fall within the proper domain of dentistry. In this opinion paper, we defend the view that the provision of reasonably safe and effective novel biological interventions aimed at preventing DC and periodontitis should be understood to fall within the proper domain of dentistry. To do so, we first argue that their use would be consistent with existing practice in dentistry. We then argue that: i) they may substantially increase the recipient's wellbeing and future autonomy; and ii) that their use could constitute a form of indirect preventative medicine by addressing a threat to systemic health. |
| spellingShingle | Neves, VCM Pugh, J Savulescu, J Beyond oral hygiene, are capacity-altering, biologically based interventions within the moral domain of dentistry? |
| title | Beyond oral hygiene, are capacity-altering, biologically based interventions within the moral domain of dentistry? |
| title_full | Beyond oral hygiene, are capacity-altering, biologically based interventions within the moral domain of dentistry? |
| title_fullStr | Beyond oral hygiene, are capacity-altering, biologically based interventions within the moral domain of dentistry? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beyond oral hygiene, are capacity-altering, biologically based interventions within the moral domain of dentistry? |
| title_short | Beyond oral hygiene, are capacity-altering, biologically based interventions within the moral domain of dentistry? |
| title_sort | beyond oral hygiene are capacity altering biologically based interventions within the moral domain of dentistry |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nevesvcm beyondoralhygienearecapacityalteringbiologicallybasedinterventionswithinthemoraldomainofdentistry AT pughj beyondoralhygienearecapacityalteringbiologicallybasedinterventionswithinthemoraldomainofdentistry AT savulescuj beyondoralhygienearecapacityalteringbiologicallybasedinterventionswithinthemoraldomainofdentistry |