Domains and indicators of educational and clinical management performance in dental schools and related dental education and care settings: a scoping review

Introduction Dental schools are complex educational and clinical organizations in which managerial performance can influence the quality of education, clinical care, resource management, and stakeholder experiences. Although various tools and frameworks have been developed to assess educational environments, service quality, and dental education standards, there remains a lack of a specific tool designed to evaluate managerial performance in dental schools. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to identify and map the domains and indicators used to evaluate managerial, educational, and clinical performance in dental schools and related dental education and care settings. Methods This scoping review was conducted based on the framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley, and its reporting followed the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Relevant studies were identified through searches of Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, selected Iranian information sources (IranDoc, Medlib, SID, IranMedex, and MagIran), and Google Scholar. These sources were selected to provide broad coverage of international and Iranian literature in English and Persian. Searches were conducted from database inception to 17 February 2026. Studies conducted in dental schools or in other dental education or clinical care settings were eligible if they reported indicators, tools, or frameworks relating to managerial performance or to stakeholder-related outcomes that may be influenced by managerial performance; evidence from settings other than dental schools was treated as indirect (proxy) evidence. Studies not relevant to the review objective, not conducted in eligible dental education or clinical care settings, or not assessing relevant performance were excluded. Data were extracted using a standardized form and synthesized using descriptive and conceptual approaches. Two researchers reviewed and categorized the extracted indicators, with a third researcher consulted when consensus could not be reached. No formal critical appraisal of the methodological quality or risk of bias of the included studies was undertaken, consistent with the methodological purpose of a scoping review. Results A total of 1,496 records were identified. After removal of 206 duplicates, 1,290 records were screened by title and abstract, and 237 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. Ultimately, 31 studies were included. A total of 76 indicators were identified, comprising 53 subjective and 23 objective indicators. The indicators were categorized into five domains: Leadership and Quality (12 indicators), Educational Performance and Professional Competence (18 indicators), Clinical Care and Services (26 indicators), Human Resources (13 indicators), and Social and Communication (7 indicators). The Clinical Care and Services domain contained the largest number of indicators, whereas Social and Communication contained the fewest. Conclusion This scoping review identified and categorized five major domains encompassing 76 indicators for assessing educational and clinical management-related performance in dental schools and related settings. The identified domains covered Leadership and Quality, Educational Performance and Professional Competence, Clinical Care and Services, Human Resources, and Social and Communication. Subjective indicators predominated, which suggests that objective measures are comparatively underrepresented in the available literature. The findings offer a preliminary, evidence-based map of candidate indicators that may inform, but do not replace, the development and validation of an instrument for evaluating managerial performance in dental schools. Part of the evidence came from settings outside dental schools and was not critically appraised.