Professional identity formation: The key contributors and dental students' concerns.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the components of professional identity formation (PIF) and understand dental students' concerns toward their professional identity development so that research-informed recommendations can be made to improve dental professional programs.

Methods: This is a qualitative study. A total of 18 students of the whole graduating class (class size: 46) were interviewed about their progress through a newly designed curriculum specific for the dental students at a large public research university in Canada.