This commentary positions dental public health as a critical catalyst for transforming DSL/CBDE by embracing solidarity and accompaniment as guiding ethical frameworks and by redefining success through humility, shared purpose, authentic partnership, community-driven metrics, and culturally responsive pedagogy. Doing so will inculcate in dental professionals sustainable, responsive, accountable, and justice-oriented practices and will strengthen the future of public health dentistry by cultivating clinicians committed to equity beyond episodic outreach. The paper concludes with recommendations for curricular reform and institutional alignment to support this paradigm.
Raskin et al. (Sun,) studied this question.