Innovations in Dental Education: Shaping the Future of Dentistry

Dear Colleagues,

Shaping the Future of Dentistry: The New Significance of ‘Dental Ethics’ in Teaching

Dentistry and the dental profession are currently undergoing far-reaching changes, prompting calls for ethical training in under- and postgraduate education. Visible signs of this transformation include the widespread use of artificial intelligence in dentistry, which raises new questions about data security and the dentist's ultimate responsibility, but also the increasing importance of patient autonomy and its implications.

The issue of scientific integrity is also more pressing than ever: dentists need a fundamental understanding of good scientific practice and sensitivity to scientific misconduct. Equally critical are questions about how to ensure fair and equitable access to dental care and how to appropriately treat vulnerable patient groups—especially those with limited decision-making capacity (e.g., minors, the very elderly, dementia patients) or social vulnerability (e.g., patients in nursing homes, migrants from other cultural backgrounds). Special ethical competence is also required when dealing with patients who have dental anxiety. The same applies to dental ethics in clinical practice. Clinical–ethical case discussions of dilemma-ridden patients help dentists make ethically sound decisions.

Ethics also plays a role in developing mindful and empathetic communication: dentists often have to deliver difficult news—for example, when multiple tooth extractions become necessary or oral cancer is diagnosed. Ethical training is also helpful for dealing appropriately with treatment errors. Here, it is important to counter the traditionally negative, punitive approach to errors with a positive error culture.

So-called "wish-fulfilling dentistry" also presents a normative challenge: serial teeth whitening, the serial application of veneers, the insertion of gemstones into teeth, and oral piercings are procedures that are generally not medically indicated but are financially lucrative for dentists. A critical ethical awareness must be established in this area as well.

This Special Issue discusses the aforementioned issues and other topics in dental ethics, and explains why establishing ethics as a subject in dentistry is crucial for the future viability of the dental profession.

Prof. Dr. Dominik Groß
Guest Editor

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• dental ethics
• artificial intelligence
• scientific integrity
• patient autonomy
• wish-fulfilling dentistry