Human rights and ethical considerations in oral health research

Although international agreements set the framework for research ethics, countries vary in their interpretation and execution. The Government of Canada guidelines are based on the Tri-council policy statement: ethical conduct for research involving humans (2005) and the new CIHR guidelines for health research involving Aboriginal people (2007). In this critical review, we address 3 areas of educational value to practitioners who care for the oral health needs of the public, research trainees and research investigators who advance knowledge pertaining to oral health: protection of human study participants, conflicts of interest and investigator integrity. Its main message is that ethical health care should be supported by a strong foundation of ethical research.