Negligence is defined as

• A. The failure to perform clinical action (prophylactic or therapeutic) at a reasonable and acceptable standard of the profession with the result of harm to the patient.
• B. Intentional harm to a patient
• C. A minor error with no harm
• D. A breach of contract

Answer: (A)

Negligence in dental care means failing to meet the professional standard of care and causing harm as a result. The essential idea is that a dental hygienist has a duty to act according to what a reasonably prudent professional would do. If that standard is not met and the patient is harmed, negligence has occurred. The statement described captures this by noting both the failure to perform a clinical action to the reasonable standard and the resulting harm to the patient.

If there’s no harm, it usually isn’t negligence. The other ideas describe different concepts: intentional harm (a deliberate act), a minor error with no harm (not enough to establish negligence), or a breach of contract (a contract-based issue rather than a failure to meet professional standard causing harm).