A review of teaching ethics in the dental curriculum: challenges and future developments

This study considers the role and status of the teaching of ethics on the dental undergraduate curriculum. The study reviews current developments in the delivery of dental ethics education and in particular focuses on the development of new pedagogies and curricula content. The study then critically considers the consequences of a squeezed curricula and the consequent reliance on professional regulation as shorthand for the ethical development of students. The study concludes that, although great strides have been made in improving the teaching of ethics in dental education, further dialogue is needed to better include patient views and develop a more theoretically robust approach to self-reflection.