Ethical Challenges in Dentistry Education from the Dental Faculty Members and Students’ Perspective

Identifying ethical challenges and then developing ethical codes and making ethical decisions are one of the solutions to promote professional ethics in any field. Given that ethical challenges in Iranian dentistry education have not been identified so far, the aim of the present study was to explain the ethical challenges in dentistry education. The present qualitative research was performed using qualitative content analysis approach. Participants included faculty members and students of general dentistry from dental schools of metropolitan area 5 of Iran (Shiraz, Yasuj, Bushehr, and Bandar Abbas); they were selected using purposeful sampling. The researcher collected data using semi-structured interviews and focus group. Participants’ conversations were recorded, implemented immediately, and analyzed using MAXQDATA software version 10. Confirmability, credibility, dependability, and transferability were used as the criteria used to ensure scientific accuracy. A total of 16 faculty members attended focus group sessions and individual interviews. A total of 114 codes were extracted, which were classified into three main categories: ethical challenge in the educational system (three subcategories), educational ethical challenge related to faculty members (four subcategories), and educational ethical challenge related to students (two sub-categories). There are many ethical challenges in the field of dental education from the faculty members and students’ perspective that must be addressed by faculty authorities, faculty members, and students. It is suggested that solutions to address these challenges should be considered in future researches; if necessary, appropriate ethical codes should be codified in this regard.