The weaknesses of the Iranian dental education system, suggestions, and improvement methods

Although in recent years we have seen an increasing number of dentists in the country, unfortunately, the quality of education of students has not changed much during these years. The final goal of the dental education system is to prepare and create the necessary skills in students to provide the most appropriate and excellent dental treatment to society. One of the major problems is the inconsistency of the capacity of accepting students with the capacities of universities (facilities, equipment, professors, educational space, and the number of patients). Being apart from the size of the treatment departments and the presentation of the treatment plan by the university professors without defining any role for the students is one of the main reasons that cause the students to lack a comprehensive view and the ability to make decisions regarding the treatment of patients. The excessive separation of the departments takes away the opportunity for comprehensive education from the students so that they are not familiar with inter-departmental consultations, which ultimately affects their capabilities. The need to change the attitude of professors and students toward education and guidance towards providing a health-oriented treatment plan can cause many reforms in the educational system. One of the most important solutions is creating motivation and empowering students with new educational methods and involving students in the entire patient treatment process. It is easy to increase the educational quality of universities by considering simple solutions even despite many structural problems and at the same time provide better quality medical services to the people. The more attention we pay to educating students and solving the problems of the dental education system, in the not-too-distant future we will have a society with higher oral health and better quality dental services.