Objectives : The purpose of the study was to examine the ethical requirements for the protection of human subjects in the publication guidelines of dental health journals. Methods : The guidelines of 27 dental health journals were reviewed to determine ethical standards alone, with Helsinki Declaration, by an institutional review board (IRB), informed consent, protection of subject privacy and confidentiality, and no conflicts of interest. Results : 1. Dentistry journals listed on National Research Foundation of Korea had a conflict of interest disclosure provisions of the contribution(76.9%) and the IRB approval(61.5%). 2. Half of the dental health journals were not listed on National Research Foundation of Korea Society but they agreed the advance posting provisions. 3. Dental hygiene journals provide 100% of ethics alone and receive 75% of IRB in the papers. 4. Dental health and dental hygiene journals have conflicts of interest disclosure regulations(59.2%) and IRB approval(51.8%). 5. There existed statistically significant differences between the dental health journals whether they were listed on the human subjects and ethical standards for protection in National Research Foundation of Korea or not. Conclusions : While the publication guidelines of dental health journals have followed to a greater extent in recent years, there is still a need for further instructions to ensure that the authors satisfy all ethical requirements in conducting research on human subjects. IRB approval for dental journals must be standardized and reinforced reflecting the characteristics of each journals. The researchers should obey the code of ethics suitable for education and the editors must review the paper continuously.