PREVALENCE OF STRESS, EMOTIONAL EXHAUSTION, AND FEELINGS OF BURNOUT AMONG DENTISTS IN IASI COUNTY

Abstract

The profession of dentistry comes with numerous challenges and responsibilities. Dental burnout is a form of professional exhaustion that affects many practitioners in the field of dentistry. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of stress, emotional exhaustion, and feelings of burnout among dentists in Iasi County. Material and methods: To assess the perception of dentists regarding the phenomenon of burnout, we conducted a questionnaire-based study with 12 questions involving 46 dentists from Iasi County. The data were statistically analyzed using the SPSS 26.0 (p<0.05). Results: The evaluation of health and wellbeing showed that 72.2% of the participants reported emotional exhaustion associated with their profession. 73.9% reported that stress affects the quality of the medical services they provide, 78% of respondents indicated difficulties in concentrating due to fatigue or stress, 84.2% of participants signaled a high impact of burnout on patient relationships. 87.5% of participants, especially dentists and orthodontists, have considered changing their profession. Dentists and orthodontists, along with those who have more than 11 years of practice, appear to be the most affected by burnout. Conclusions: These results indicate a high prevalence of stress, emotional exhaustion, and feelings of burnout among dentists in Iasi County. The phenomenon of burnout is frequently encountered among doctors with many years of professional experience.

Keywords

• dentists
• burnout