آموزش اخلاق در دندانپزشكي

Ethics Education in Dentistry

Background: Medical ethics is a discipline that outlines the requirements of caregiving and research in order to protect the patients and trial participants from harm and maltreatment. Similar to other branches of medicine, dentistry also needs a morality-based guideline to provide the best quality of care to individuals with oral problems. The fundamental concept of ethics in dental practitioners is a reflection of the ethical curriculum employed during their graduate training. The present study focuses on the application and teaching of bioethics in dentistry. Dental students are an ideal group for learning the essentials of professional ethics that can lead to improved communication with patients and other health-care professionals. Teaching ethics in dentistry is currently based on traditional oral lecturing and religious beliefs. Indifference towards the practical aspects of bioethics in dental schools has decreased its efficiency. A pure theoretical approach to the topic can bore the students and cause a lower level of engagement. And bioethics courses that are currently offered in dental schools are usually based on those presented in the medical curriculum and the differences between the two professions has not been incorporated into the dental graduate program. A treatment is considered successful when it is established on the basis of morality, doctorpatient communication and expectations of the patients. Conclusion: The goal of an ethics course in the dental curriculum is to ensure that all students are able to employ their acquired knowledge of moral issues in clinical settings. Therefore reevaluation of the ethics course should become a major concern of dental faculties.