This October we marked World Mental Health Day, a day recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that reminds people of the importance of good mental health and the need to prioritise and invest in personal wellbeing. I am a huge advocate for this – for my colleagues and all those who work within the oral healthcare sector.
Recently, I was proud to represent both Dental Protection and The MPS Foundation at the recent FDI World Dental Federation (FDI) Congress, and be the first signatory on the Pledge to support the mental health and well-being of dental students on their behalf.
Being a signatory isn’t just symbolic. It represents a genuine commitment by Dental Protection and The MPS Foundation to change how the profession supports its youngest members and protects their futures.
What is the pledge?
The pledge is a key milestone of a wider FDI Project funded by The MPS Foundation, which aims to tackle stress and anxiety in dentistry. The project goals include:
- Raising awareness of mental health challenges within dentistry.
- Developing resources to support dental healthcare professionals worldwide.
The pledge includes commitments to:
- Equip educators with tools to identify and address students’ mental health concerns.
- Prepare students for the transition from university into practice, including stress management and self-care strategies.
- Provide tailored support services specifically for dental students.
- Ensure students on clinical placements have access to mental health resources.
Why the pledge matters
Dental Protection surveys globally have revealed the scale of the challenge the profession faces and a growing mental wellbeing crisis. A significant proportion of clinicians report feeling exhausted and burnt out but continue to work as they feel unable to take time off.
The consequences can be significant:
- Some consider leaving the profession within years of graduating. More dentists are retiring early as the pressures of practice become insurmountable.
- Many clinicians have said that working while struggling mentally has led to reduced concentration, diminished empathy, and increased fear of errors.
- In one survey, 34% of the participants believed their mental health difficulties may have contributed to a lower standard of care.
Therefore, steps to improve wellbeing in the profession not only looks after our members’ health – it has the potential to retain clinicians in the profession and provide better standards of patient care. For us, fewer errors mean fewer members at risk of complaints and claims.
Why the focus on students – and why now?
It all boils down to ‘prevention is better than cure’.
Many organisations, including Dental Protection, provide wellbeing support for the wider dental profession. But a missing piece of the puzzle has been starting at the beginning of the journey and being proactive, rather than reactive when addressing wellbeing concerns.
The need for student support is clear:
- Studies globally show more than 50% of dental students experience high stress during training.
- In their final years, many are already showing signs of burnout.
Imagine starting a career already close to exhaustion – only to find that the pressures increase in practice.
Students now not only face constant examinations and assessment of clinical skills, but have huge financial concerns, unprecedented expectations to excel, toxic peer pressure to have a social media presence whilst struggling to find sufficient patients to allow them to meet their clinical targets. Many feel isolated and scared to ask for help for fear of being seen as a ‘failure’.
Our future dentists need early support and tools to ensure they are able to thrive, rather than just survive.
The MPS Foundation is committed to supporting the wellbeing of healthcare professionals and reducing burnout. Two recent research publications1,2 show poor wellbeing and burnout is associated with more adverse events, patient safety events and lower professionalism meaning more complaints and claims for us.
We have already supported a number of medical and dental projects that focus on the causes of poor wellbeing and burn out as well projects that explore what works. More details of our projects can be found at: https://www.thempsfoundation.org/our-research/case-studies
By signing the pledge, we are doing more than acknowledging the problem. We are committing to being part of the solution: supporting dental students from the very beginning of their journey.
The pledge is an opportunity to shift the culture of dentistry – one that has historically prioritised resilience over wellbeing – towards one that recognises that healthy clinicians provide better, safer care.
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