New survey suggests that over 75% of dentists feel anxious or stressed
A new survey has revealed that over 75% of dentists feel anxious or stressed on a weekly basis.
According to the Dental Defence Union (DDU), 78% of members admitted to feeling stressed or anxious every week. In addition, 53% of participants said they wouldn’t feel comfortable raising issues related to health and wellbeing. Almost 90% of members said they would prefer to discuss issues with family. Just 40% said they would talk to their GP and only 47% said they would speak to their colleagues.
The survey also showed that 45% of dentists feel that they don’t have enough time to spend with patients and a third suggested that they felt they couldn’t do their jobs properly.
The proportion of dentists who felt that they were making a positive difference to their patients increased from 72% in May 2020 to 93% in March 2021. Around 80% of participants were well-supported by colleagues and 67% said they had positive working relationships. Over 54% of those surveyed said that they had a good work-life balance.
Dentolegal adviser at the DDU, Lesley Taylor, explained that the pressures of the pandemic were likely to have contributed to high levels of stress and anxiety among dental workers. The advice from the union is for dentists to reach out and ask for help or advice if they are struggling and to make use of their support networks and relationships with relatives, friends and colleagues.
Data was collected from 400 DDU members in March 2021.
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