Preparing the next generation of dental leaders: a scoping review

Aims With ongoing uncertainty about how dental leadership should evolve to meet future real-world challenges, this rapid scoping review evaluated existing literature to identify strategies that most effectively develop leadership skills in dentistry.Methods Multiple sources (Medline, AMED, Embase and Google Scholar) were searched using terms relating to 'healthcare', 'dentistry', 'leadership', 'effectiveness', 'development', 'education', 'training' and 'programmes'. Records were screened for relevance; eligible sources informing the aim were included. Findings were interpreted and reported using narrative synthesis principles.Results Evidence was diverse but centred on leadership development. Dentistry is often described as relying on hierarchical, authoritative and managerial approaches, which may limit the development of future leaders. Education and training at pre- and post-registration levels were consistently highlighted as ways to transition toward leadership models shown to work elsewhere in healthcare, including transformational and participative leadership. These styles may enhance quality of care and patient safety, optimise staff wellbeing, and sustain workforce capacity and competence.Conclusions Leadership is fundamental to care quality, patient safety and workforce resilience. Despite strong regulatory, professional and policy emphasis, evidence remains limited regarding which leadership styles and development methods are most effective in dentistry. Future research should address these gaps by evaluating theory-informed dental leadership development programmes and their impacts.