Influencing the Moral Dimensions of Dental Practice

Abstract

My purpose in this chapter is to present an overview of what we have learned about each of the four component processes (see chap. 1) from our studies of the moral development of dental professionals. I begin by pointing out some of the features of the instructional programs. Then, I take up each process in turn, addressing the research questions that motivated our inquiry, describing the assessment methods we developed or used, and summarizing the evidence to date on program effectiveness. Evidence is drawn from students enrolled in the dental ethics curriculum since its inception, and from 20 practicing dentists and auxiliaries who were referred for ethics instruction by the Minnesota Board of Dentistry.1