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Public Health · patient case question

A pregnant patient mentions that she drinks wine. What is your responsibility?

Patient case: Counselling, implant planning and occlusal vertical dimension

Scenario: Four items.

  1. Counsel her about fetal alcohol syndrome and advise abstinence
  2. Advise her that one glass daily is safe
  3. Report her to child protective services
  4. Say nothing — it is outside the dental scope of practice
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. Counsel her about fetal alcohol syndrome and advise abstinence

  • A. Correct. No amount of alcohol has been established as safe in pregnancy. Brief, non-judgemental counselling is within the dentist's scope and duty, and the effects — midface hypoplasia, a smooth philtrum, a thin upper lip, developmental delay — are irreversible.
  • B. This is factually wrong — no threshold of safe consumption in pregnancy has been established.
  • C. There is no reportable offence here. Reporting would destroy the trust needed to help her.
  • D. Health counselling is squarely within the dentist's role as a health care provider, particularly where the oral and facial consequences are so direct.

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