All dental nurses in a new study said that working in dentistry was stressful, with 92% saying they had experienced burnout.
One dental nurse described feeling ‘exhausted, frustrated and very anxious’, while another said they were ‘on edge, unable to switch off, anxious, overwhelmed, out of control’.
These are the findings of a British Dental Journal case study.
Common reasons for these feelings were:
- Being undervalued by clinicians and patients
- Working within the team
- Lack of communication.
For example, one nurse said: ‘I am the only dental nurse, I don’t have anyone to talk to. If I’m having a tough time with a patient, it’s hard not having someone there at the time but also after to talk it through.’
‘Patients don’t understand how much pressure dental nurses are under’
Expanding on the feeling of being undervalued, one of the nurses touched on remuneration. They said: ‘I think that dentists and patients don’t understand how much pressure dental nurses are under. We are definitely undervalued, as can be seen in our salaries.’
Others criticised the lack of work-life balance available to them, saying: ‘I think most dental nurses I know suffer from burnout to some degree.’
A contributing factor to the lack of work-life balance was the dental nurses’ annual leave policies. One nurse said that ‘only four weeks annual leave when you work full time isn’t enough’, reporting ‘a major impact on my wellbeing’.
In addition, long working hours made the nurses feel ‘there is no time left in the evening to enjoy anything’.
‘I find it hard to carry on’
The dental nurses described their jobs as ‘physically and mentally draining’, requiring ‘hours and hours of concentration’. Workload was identified as significant issue. One nurse said: ‘I take on too much – it is not an option to say no really.’
A lack of training was also noted by the researchers. For example, the nurses said they were not prepared for dealing with the general public, managing stress or dealing with ‘real-life issues’.
These conditions have led to many dental nurses lacking confidence. They said:
- ‘I worry about if I have done everything right and if I am good enough’
- ‘I lose my confidence and things spiral. I find it hard to carry on’
- ‘I lack confidence on a daily basis. I feel like I have backed myself it to a corner that I can’t get out of.’
‘I’m not convinced that anyone who does not work as a dental nurse could fully understand’
Most of the nurses did not have structured mechanisms to cope with the pressure of their jobs. Finding someone to talk to about work problems was cited as a problem, as the nurses were ‘not convinced that anyone who does not work as a dental nurse could fully understand’.
Even among peers within dentistry, nurses were ‘not sure who to trust’ leading to apprehension. Friends and family could not provide enough support as ‘they really just don’t get it’.
Management also did not feel supportive to many of the dental nurses due to fear of seeming ‘incompetent’.
One potential solution proposed by the study was increasing the amount of mentorship available. However, while 95% of the dental nurses felt that mentoring would be helpful, they had ‘little to no knowledge’ of the mentoring process.
Many said they were concerned about being comfortable talking to their mentor and the potential of feeling inadequate compared to them.
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