Ethical Issues and Use of Animal Models in Dentistry - A Systematic Review

Abstract

Prior to conducting therapeutic trials on people, it is critical to do experimental studies on animal models to determine the origin and pathophysiology of the illness process Objective: The objective of this systematic review was to outline the ethical issues involved in the need of animal studies in dentistry. Methods: This research was conducted using latest Prisma guidelines 2020. Data retrieved for this study was searched on PubMed, google scholar, and Cochrane libraries. Results: Safe and valid experimentation is the key for successful research. In health sector, the precision, accuracy, and validation of the experiment is very critical. It has been a common practice in health sector, that medicine and other surgical research is tested and validated on non-human primates. Once these tests on non-human subjects are replicated and validated multiple times, then the trials on human volunteers are initiated. However, over the years, researchers and different groups have raised serious questions about the abuse of animal studies. Moreover, the technology has progressed quite rapidly. Conclusions: The contemporary world is currently dealing with artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality. The dentistry is also strong pillar of health services and is not alien to these issues. The outcome of this review is to explore the possibilities of using technology as an alternative to animal in dentistry