Ethical Challenges Faced by Senior Dental Students and General Dentists

Abstract

Background and Aim: General familiarity with medical ethics sometimes does not meet the needs of dentists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ethical challenges faced by senior dental students and dentists. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 50 senior dental students and 50 dentists were selected from Yazd city, Iran. A questionnaire with three domains (demographic information, hypothetical scenarios, and some three-choice questions about ethical issues) was used to collect data, and the data were analyzed by the Chi-square test. Results:The mean age of students and general dentists was 24±2 and 30±2 years, respectively; 42% of the respondents were males, and 58% were females. Except for one item (dentist's right to refuse treatment) (P<0.05), no significant difference was found between the two groups (P>0.05). The most common challenges faced by the participants were compromising treatment due to cost issues (77.1% of students and 71.4% of dentists) and noticing sub-standard treatments performed by other dentists (64% of students and 58% of dentists). Unawareness about the right way to criticize other dentists was the least commonly reported challenge (28% of students and 36.7% of dentists). A significant difference was found in the frequency of encountering sub-standard treatments performed by other dentists between the two groups (P=0.031). A significant difference in the frequency of a particular challenge between males and females was seen only in one item (disagreement with other colleagues on the appropriate treatment plan) and only in the students' group (P= 0.040). Conclusion:This study showed that dental practitioners had faced a variety of ethical challenges, that need to be addressed in dental education. However, the results of this study may not be generalizable to other cities.

Ethical Dilemmas for Dental Students in Greece

“…The fee-related dilemmas of our students were also reported elsewhere with more severe acknowledgment. In the study of Maybodi et al [28], the authors reported that the most common challenges faced by dental students were compromising treatment due to cost issues (77.1%), a percentage almost triple the one reported here. This can be attributed to the chronological challenges of the current worldwide pandemic, cultural differences, and Gen Z characteristics [31,32,36].…”

“…In comparison, only 18% of the postgraduate students claimed the same, and 82% of the dentists, while only 16% of the participants believed this decision would be wrong, stubborn, or show indifference [39]. In accordance, 66% of the students and 89.8% of the dentists in the study of Maybodi et al [28] expressed the right of the clinician to refuse treatment.…”

“…In our study, the female gender was positively related to values such as integrity and altruism while expressing difficulty in conversations among colleagues. The latter is further expressed [28], where a significant difference was reported in the frequency of disagreement with other colleagues on the appropriate treatment plan between males and females. It is also reported that gender does not explain a statistically significant proportion of variability in the development of moral reasoning and that evidence does not support claims of gender polarity in moral orientations [38].…”

“…Further, progress in dental research has brought critical ethical issues in modern dentistry. Therefore, nowadays, dental professionals and students face different moral conflicts in their clinical practice than before [14,28]. Hence, there is an imperative need for the dental profession to acknowledge the role that ethics play in the legitimacy of the profession.…”

Does the Misuse of Oral Hygiene Facilitate the Spread of COVID-19 Among Cohabiting Individuals? A Cross-sectional Study

“…In their studies, Raskiliene et al reported a direct relationship between oral hygiene and education level (24)(25)(26)(27). However, in the study by Rashidi-Maybodi et al, no significant relationship was shown between oral health and education level (28).…”