Happiness is a subject that has been contemplated and mused upon by philosophers and academics for as long as there have been philosophers and academics, and there are many definitions and descriptions of what happiness is, or what it should feel like.
A recent appointment with a particularly happy patient got me thinking along similar lines: What is it that makes us, as dentists, happy?
Is it satisfied patients? Successful treatments? New technology and
gadgets? Holidays? Certainly all of these elements contribute to a sense of momentary contentment and satisfaction, but what is it that creates a more long-term feeling of happiness? What can we do to make our profession happier?
Interestingly, the NHS website has five top tips designed to help people feel happier, they are:
1) Manage your stress levels
2) Use humour and enjoy yourself
3) Build-up your self-esteem
4) Have a healthy lifestyle
5) Talk and share
These are all fairly generic and rather predictable pieces of advice and in some cases relate to things that you might not actually be able to affect. Some may argue that managing your stress levels, for instance, is only possible if you entirely remove any external infl uence that may cause you stress. Often those who suffer from low self-esteem may not be in a position to simply ‘build [it] up’.
However, looking at the list again, the points all seem to relate to issues of control: controlling your environment, controlling what you eat and drink, and controlling those around you. So perhaps the secret to achieving happiness all comes down to levels of control? Indeed, there are many psychological studies that put choice, autonomy and control as major contributors to feelings of happiness.
Therefore, it would appear that we are happiest when we have control of our own destinies, when the decisions that affect us most are the ones that we have the power over. Thus, as dentists, we may be happy in our day-to-day
practices and surgeries because this is where we are in charge and make the decisions, but, as soon as this control is taken away we can feel uncomfortable, unsure and less content.
In a wider sense, this is something that many dentists are feeling at the moment and there is a growing sensation of unease and unhappiness across the industry. This can be attributed to an increasing sense of a loss of control over a profession that we are all care deeply for and are so passionate about.
The well-documented problems with the GDC certainly don’t help the situation and for many the lack of perceived control in this area in particular is a source of anxiety and distress. What with increasing fees, constantly changing regulations and a governing body that often appears to be at loggerheads with the profession, it is hardly surprising that dentists’ confidence and happiness has begun to wane.
Many felt that eventually something had to change and the GDC is now firmly in the dock, facing the wrath of a disgruntled profession as LDCs across the country have expressed their disdain and frustration. The latest wave of disapproval from professionals stems from the significant increase in retention fees for practitioners, but also has deeper roots in the way in which the GDC operates as a whole. But the question remains: how do we change all this and what would actually make us happier?
In its response to the LDCs, the GDC released a statement saying that it was anxious to “engage constructively with the dental profession” and has planned discussions that it hopes professionals will participate in. Certainly entering into a two-way discourse is the first step to achieving some sort of mediated appeasement, but will this make us happier as a profession?
Ultimately, what dentists want is to feel like they have some degree of control over their industry and their future. It is therefore time to examine the roadblocks that are getting in the way and begin changing dentistry for the better. By wrestling back some control, perhaps we can all be a little bit happier?
References available on request.