Oral health disparities and bridging gaps in dental education: A call for enhanced ethics training and community engagement.

Abstract

Oral health disparities remain a stark reflection of broader systemic inequities within healthcare. Marginalized and underserved populations consistently experience limited access to dental care, poorer health outcomes, and heightened barriers to achieving equitable care. The dental profession faces a critical, existential moment: it must determine what role it will play in society and how it will respond to pressing issues of health inequity. As stewards of public trust and oral health, dental practitioners and educators must determine how to leverage their influence to address pressing issues of health inequity. This responsibility is particularly significant for dental schools, as they shape the ethical compass, cultural competency, and community engagement capabilities of future practitioners and thus bear a special responsibility in this transformative endeavor. This manuscript thus argues that dental schools should move beyond their traditional role of clinical training to engage more deeply with ethics, social determinants of health (SDOH), and community engagement. By doing so, they can prepare practitioners capable of advancing health equity and reshaping the role of dentistry in society.