Behavioral and Social Sciences in Dental Education: Protecting Person-Centered Care in a Changing Policy Environment

Oral health is shaped by biological, behavioral, social, structural, and political conditions, requiring dental education to prepare clinicians to understand and respond to influences extending beyond the clinical encounter. This perspective piece examines how recent U.S. policy changes may affect oral health, dental education, and the future dental workforce and considers the role of behavioral and social sciences in maintaining person-centered dental practice.

This perspective synthesizes Commission on Dental Accreditation standards, contemporary federal and state policy developments, and behavioral and social science literature. Policy changes affecting research funding, accreditation, educational financing, public health infrastructure, and access to dental care were examined in relation to their potential implications for dental education and oral health.

The analysis demonstrates that policy environments function as structural drivers that influence both the oral health system and the educational structures preparing future dentists. Behavioral and social sciences provide a critical educational bridge between these upstream structural influences and clinical practice by preparing learners to understand social and structural determinants of health, communicate effectively, address behavioral and psychosocial factors, and respond to barriers affecting access and outcomes.

Protecting and strengthening behavioral and social sciences in dental education is essential during periods of structural and policy change. Dental educators, accreditors, professional organizations, and policymakers should preserve these educational foundations to prepare dentists capable of delivering person-centered care, navigating structural influences on health, advancing equitable access, and upholding dentistry's social accountability and public trust.