Rostamzadeh Masoumeh, Rahimi Farshad
Department of Prosthodontics, Dental School, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Pasdaran Boulevard, Sanandaj, Iran.
Students Research Committee, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
BMC Med Ethics. 2025 Jan 27;26(1):12. doi: 10.1186/s12910-025-01169-6.
The increasing societal emphasis on physical appearance, particularly influenced by social media, has led to a significant rise in demand for aesthetic dentistry procedures. This study aims to explore the ethical dimensions of marketing practices and the phenomenon of overtreatment in cosmetic dental procedures, highlighting the implications for patient care and professional integrity.
A systematic literature review was conducted across four databases, yielding an initial 76 articles. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 articles were selected for analysis. The review focused on ethical considerations, marketing practices, and overtreatment in aesthetic dentistry, employing narrative synthesis to extract relevant data.
The findings indicate that social media is a primary driver of patient expectations, often prioritizing aesthetic outcomes over health considerations. This trend raises ethical concerns about informed consent and autonomy. The commodification of dental care, fueled by aggressive marketing strategies, has resulted in a notable increase in overtreatment, where unnecessary procedures are performed to satisfy commercial pressures and idealized beauty standards. The review highlights a lack of robust ethical guidelines governing marketing practices in aesthetic dentistry, exacerbating these issues.
The study underscores the urgent need for clear ethical frameworks to guide dental practitioners in balancing patient welfare with business interests. Recommendations include the implementation of ethics education in dental curricula, the development of comprehensive ethical guidelines, and fostering open communication between practitioners and patients. These measures are essential for enhancing informed decision-making and ensure that patient care remains the priority in aesthetic dentistry.
社会对容貌的重视程度日益增加，尤其是受到社交媒体的影响，这导致对美容牙科手术的需求大幅上升。本研究旨在探讨营销实践的伦理维度以及美容牙科手术中的过度治疗现象，强调其对患者护理和职业操守的影响。
在四个数据库中进行了系统的文献综述，初步筛选出76篇文章。在应用纳入和排除标准后，选择了12篇文章进行分析。该综述聚焦于美容牙科中的伦理考量、营销实践和过度治疗，采用叙述性综合分析来提取相关数据。
研究结果表明，社交媒体是患者期望的主要驱动因素，往往将美学效果置于健康考量之上。这种趋势引发了关于知情同意和自主权的伦理担忧。激进的营销策略推动了牙科护理的商品化，导致过度治疗显著增加，即进行不必要的手术以满足商业压力和理想化的美容标准。该综述强调美容牙科缺乏强有力的营销实践伦理准则，加剧了这些问题。
该研究强调迫切需要明确的伦理框架，以指导牙科从业者在患者福利和商业利益之间取得平衡。建议包括在牙科课程中实施伦理教育、制定全面的伦理准则，以及促进从业者与患者之间的开放沟通。这些措施对于加强知情决策至关重要，并确保在美容牙科中患者护理始终是首要任务。
