In dentists and therapists I see the most intelligent, dedicated and caring professionals and this dissatisfaction is not your fault. There are other factors at play and I'm going to tell you what they are and how you can fix things to get the race you imagined. The dynamics of the office, the overheads, the supplies, the patients, everyone hates the dentist, people think that all they REALLY need is for you to try to screw them up, and for some dentists that may be true, but it wears you out. This varied by field of practice, and GDP showed the highest scores, indicating that they could not cope with the stress level, followed by dentists in the community.
A 2004 survey of 3,500 dentists showed that 38 percent reported that they were frequently or always worried or anxious and 34 percent said they were often or always physically or emotionally exhausted. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that nearly a third of Americans have untreated cavities, but they don't come to see a dentist because they don't think it's a big problem. IMO ownership is what makes the difference between dentistry being a good career and an excellent career. Analysis of the 2,053 valid responses showed that more than half (54.9%) of dentists reported that they currently experience high work stress and, when viewed by field of practice, GDP reported the highest levels of stress.
And unfortunately most of them are out of their control and that is why a record number of dentists have left the profession in recent years. Two dentists I've worked for literally lost some of their hearing because their constant piercings ruined their ears over time. Nearly half of dentists say the stress at their work is exceeding their ability to cope and the most stressful aspects of their work are related to regulation and patients' fear of litigation, according to a new large-scale study published in this issue of BDJ. Dentists regularly face difficult decisions to help patients who need much more treatment than they can actually afford.
While it's true that dentists are in close contact with others throughout the day, they are also often perceived as people who cause pain or have the potential to cause pain, which can make it difficult for them to develop close personal relationships with their patients. The discrepancy could be related to a reduction in suicide rates by dentists or it could be due to the research and analysis methods used. Most people are afraid of the dentist and I understand that, because I was afraid of the dentist, too, before I became one. Four percent of dentists reported panic disorder, while only 2.7 percent of the general population reported the same.
Dentists are at greater risk of back, neck, and shoulder injuries because their work requires you to lean into unnatural positions for extended periods of time. Money problems, physical and emotional stress, isolation and the unfavorable public perception of dentists in general were cited as negative aspects of their work.
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