Washington's teeth: patients' rights and dentists' rights--where are we heading?

Throughout its history in Australia the dental profession has operated primarily as a self-regulating profession. In recent years this paradigm has come under challenge from a number of quarters. Among these sources of challenge are Australia's various anti-discrimination laws, together with a more consumer-oriented approach to the development of broad public policies. This paper seeks to explore the issues in anti-discrimination law as they relate to the balance between the rights of patients and the rights of dentists. The particular problems dealing with the treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS is explored before consideration is given to other issues of social justice and equity within the dental profession. The responsibilities of dentists as health care providers and as employers are considered. Some final observations are offered on the future developments of public policy in relation to this question.