Reducing stress in dentistry - Vera Marques
This month is National Stress Month, which aims to increase awareness of the causes and cures of stress. A recent survey highlighted that high levels of self-reported stress and burnout were found in UK dentists, with the top stressors being regulation and fear of litigation.
With this in mind, The Dentist spoke to Manchester dentist Vera Marques about her thoughts on stress in the industry.
Vera said, “I didn’t realise being a dentist was this stressful.
“When people ask what made me want to become a dentist, I begin, innocently enough, explaining that I have a drive to help people, combined with interests in art, engineering, and the medical sciences. Then, I inevitably segue the conversation into difficulties I have encountered when caring for people. It is a theme so ubiquitous in my mind, that I cannot stop blurting it out.
“In our current professional environment, decision making can no longer simply rely on what seems best for our patients. Among other things, we now have to consider patients’ litigatory tendencies. It is a reality which can be draining and difficult to switch off from, especially since we spend most of our days under pressure to carry out difficult decisions, the results of which have the potential to cause us grief.
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