the components of effective management of dental services in iran: a qualitative study

Background: the provision of dental services is one of the significant challenges in the health field, and dental treatments are consistently among the most costly treatments for chronic diseases, imposing a tremendous economic burden on both individuals and healthcare systems. thus, the present study has been conducted to identify the components of effective management of dental services in iran and offer the required suggestions to improve the current status.methods: the present study was conducted with a qualitative approach using the content analysis method. the data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 15 managers, university professors, employees, and beneficiaries in the field of dental services in iran; they were selected using the purposive sampling method. the data were analyzed using directed qualitative content analysis (dqlca) and based on the steps suggested by lundman and graneheim in maxqda-2018. to evaluate the quality of the research results, guba and lincoln's criteria were assessed.results: based on the results of the study and after analyzing the interviews and categorizing the codes, 15 subcategories were identified, including appropriate training, law management, optimal use of technology, innovation, change management, standardization, financing, optimal resource management, extra-organizational support, attention to preventive approaches, emphasis on responsibility, opportunity-threat analysis, quality of doctor-patient relationship, effective and continuous communication, quality diagnosis and treatment under five main categories: planning, organization, mobilization of resources and facilities, guidance, and monitoring and control.conclusion: considering the high cost of dental services as one of the challenges in healthcare, there is a gap in effective management in this area. therefore, effective management should take into account the management components of quality-focused management, improvement of the doctor-patient relationship, monitoring and quality control, standardization, and attention to the successful models in other parts of the world.