CHAPTER 1: LAW AND JURISPRUDENCE

1.1. Law- Rule of civil conduct prescribed by sovereign power or

enactments promulgated by the legislative authority of the state.
1.2.

Place of Law in the Dental Profession

A familiar legal maxim is found in the Latin ignorantia legis

non excusat. meaning Ignorance of the law excuses no one.

Without the maxim, which is also found in Article 3 of the

Civil Code, the corrupt will make social existence unbearable,
abuses will increase, and ignorance will be rewarded.

The importance of having functional knowledge of law is the

practice of dental profession cannot be overemphasized.

Although the law is becoming complex and a dentist cannot be

expected to have a complete understanding of it, it is significant
however, for the dentist to understand legal responsibilities as
apply to dental practice.

Failure to understand these responsibilities and effectively

defend himself or herself will result in exposure to legal risk

By understanding the basic concepts of the law, a dentist can

minimize violations of the law and thereby contribute to the
orderly progress and general welfare of the society.

Law can be seen, therefore, as having four basic functions in

a society:
1. To define relationships among the members if a society and
to state which activities are permissible and which are not
permissible.
2. To describe what force may be applied to maintain rules
and by whom it is applied;
3. To provide the solution to problems; and
4. To redefine relationships between persons and groups when
conditions of life change.

1.3.

Functions of the Law in Dentistry

The law serves a number of function in dentistry:
1. It proves a framework for establishing what dental actions
in the care of patients are legal.
2. It delineates the dentists responsibilities from those of other
health practitioners
3. It helps to establish the boundaries of independent dental
action;
4. It assists in maintaining a standard of dental practice by
making dentists accountable under law.

1.4. Sources of Law Our legal system is based on several types of

law.
1. Statutory Law
These are the laws that are passed by Congress.

These written codes are hard to read because of the legal

terminology and format used in them.

These laws cover the rules for our relationships with each other.

The Philippine Dental Act of 2007 is an example of statutory

law.

2. Constitutional Law

This refers to rights, privileges and responsibilities that are

stated in or are inferred from the Philippine Constitution,
including the Bill of Rights.

Congress may not pass laws or institute rules that conflict with
constitutionally granted rights or rules because the Constitution
is the highest law of the country.

The right of privacy is an example of Constitutional Law.

3. Administrative Law

This body of law refers to the rules and ruling made by

administrative agencies that have been granted the authority by
statute (legislatively passed laws) to act in this manner.

An example of this type of law is the rules and regulations

passed by the Board of Dentistry to control dental practice.

4. Common Law
This type of law refers to the decisions made by the judges in
court cases or established by rules of custom and tradition.

1.5.

The firsts, or case law, is the result of legal principle, stare

decisis, which means that once an issue has been decided all
other cases concerning the same issue should be decided the
same way.

If there is no existing legal principle, which is often happens

with the rapidly expanding nursing, medical and dental practice
issues, the court may look at custom and tradition, which means
the way it has always done.

Classification of Law