Which statement describes technical battery?

• A. Intentionally touching a patient to cause harm.
• B. Providing a routine examination with consent.
• C. Administering treatment with written consent.
• D. Touching a patient without permission with no intent to cause harm.

Answer: (D)

Technical battery is about touching a patient without their consent—the contact itself is the issue, regardless of whether there was any intention to harm. In dental practice, procedures require informed consent, and performing a treatment or examination without that permission constitutes battery. The described situation fits this exactly: touching a patient without permission, without the intent to cause harm, is the nonconsensual contact that defines battery.

The other scenarios involve having consent or demonstrate harm-oriented intent, which aren’t the defining feature of technical battery. Providing a routine exam with consent is allowed because consent exists; administering treatment with written consent likewise involves authorized contact. Intentionally touching someone to cause harm describes harmful intent, which, while it could be associated with battery, does not illustrate the consent-based, nonconsensual contact that defines technical battery.