In Ketchup v. Howard, 247 Ga. App. 54 (543 SE2d 371) (2000) the Court corrected dicta in old cases that had been carried forward for years. In doing so, the Court brought Georgia in line with that of the other 49 states by recognizing the common law doctrine of informed consent and expressly indicating that a medical professional must inform a patient of the material risks of a proposed treatment or procedure which are or should be known and must inform the patient of available alternatives to the proposed treatment or procedure. Id. at 59 (1). In Ketchup, the Court held that Georgia "will recognize the common law doctrine of informed consent" and that "a medical professional in Georgia . . . must inform a patient of the material risks of a proposed treatment or procedure which are or should be known, and they must inform a patient of available alternatives to the proposed procedure or treatment." Id. at 54, 59. Ketchup imposed these informed consent requirements (prospectively only) on dentists performing a dental procedure, even though the procedure at issue was not covered by the doctrine of informed consent as defined under the provisions of OCGA 31-9-6.1. Id. at 54-55.