Defamation in Dentistry: Legal Frameworks, Professional Risks and Preventive Strategies in the Digital Era
Keywords:
'Defamation', 'dentistry', 'libel', 'slander', 'professional reputation', 'digital communication', 'legal framework', 'ethics', 'risk management'Abstract
Background: Dentistry being a professional of trust is very much reliant on professional reputation. The phenomenon of social media, online opinions and internet communication has contributed enormously to increased exposure to defamation risks for dental practitioners, institutions and regulation bodies. Despite this increased concern, however, legal research specific to dentistry concerning defamation is still scarce.
Objective: This narrative review examines the legal concepts, professional risks, and preventive strategies with a suggestive framework related to defamation in dentistry, providing a comprehensive overview for dental practitioners and organizations.
Methods: A comprehensive search of Pubmed and Google Scholar were conducted with the help of the keywords associated with the field of defamation and dentistry. Both the literature of the last 10 years and major legal and ethical sources were taken into consideration.
Key Findings: The review distinguishes the main legal aspects of defamation in dentistry, interprofessional communication and institutional processes, as the key sources of risk and patient-generated online content, as the key sources of actionable libel and slander. The permanence and reach of the online platform increases the reputational damage in the digital context. According to these results, a proposal is given to a suggestive legal protocol to regulate early detection, risk prevention and ethical response to defamation in the field of dentistry.
Conclusion: Legal awareness among dental professionals is essential in order to reduce the risk of defamation. A concerted effort by individual practitioners, professional organizations and regulatory bodies (with the assistance of specific guidelines in particular regions and interdisciplinary research) can effectively preserve professional reputation and public trust in dentistry.
Update Dent. Coll. j: 2026; 16(1): 30-33
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Copyright (c) 2026 Anam Ahmed, Tasnova Rahman, Huda Mannan
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