Dentistry’s Tipping Point: The burnout that was, the burnout that is, and what it will take for dentistry to thrive on into the future

Author’s Note: Over the last year, the dental industry has come face to face with it’s tipping point and is struggling to find answers as dental professionals face burnout like never before. In direct response, an action-oriented group of clinicians, industry experts, and leading brands have come together to launch Care for a Better Tomorrow, a campaign that guides the industry to reimagine a better way and create a brighter future. As both a dental professional and co-creator of the campaign, I’ve witnessed first-hand how essential it is to empower and properly equip front-line workers in order for our communities to thrive. To learn more, visit www.careforabettertomorrow.com.

Pandemic. Burnout. Moral distress. Fear. Confusion. Grief. Bankruptcy. Failure. Sadness.

It comes as no surprise that healthcare workers are the collective group most immediately and significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The act of caring for those infected with a mysterious pathogen carries aspects of chronic fear, intense pressure, and the confusion of constantly asking oneself, “Am I making the right decision?” What does come as a surprise, however, is the long-lasting effect the pandemic has had — and will have — on the dental industry and those within it. With stories of physicians — and dentists — dying by suicide and cases of clinical depression at an all-time high, one can only imagine the psychological and emotional toll that we will feel for years to come.

Is healthcare — and dentistry — prepared to navigate the inevitable mental, physical and societal change we’re facing? Is dentistry capable of attending to the well-being of those who care for others?

The answer is an easy no.

Can we reimagine a better way?

Yes. But what must it look like?

Stoic philosophers hold there are three components in any given situation: things you cannot change, things you can change, and things you have influence over. In the blink of an eye, our dental industry shut down — this is what we cannot change. Subsequently, we’ve implemented new policies and procedures to maintain the highest level of safety in our clinical practice — this is what we can change. And in our personal lives, we’re learning what it takes to identify and process our own emotions to be better attuned to the humanity of those we work with and work for — this is what we have influence over.

So, what must it take for an industry to engender a paradigm shift so innovative, and so vital, for the future of its existence? How can we co-create a human-centered system in which priority is not only given to the patient but also to the clinical provider? How will our dental industry protect the public, and its own workforce, and then simultaneously learn how to thrive?

An answer — and perhaps the single most important catalyst — is found in a one word: leadership. A recent article from the New England Journal of Medicine Group says it best:

In the midst of this volatility and uncertainty, health care leaders will likely feel the burden of responsibility to implement solutions to maintain the well-being of the workforce. While these top-down solutions will be critical, they will need to be complemented with leadership that elicits and acts on insights from frontline health care workers. Rather than reestablishing the old health system that led us to an epidemic of burnout, we need to engage all team members in rebuilding new, higher-functioning systems that promote workforce well-being. https://catalyst.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/CAT.20.0247

The message is profound and succinct — in order for the dental industry to survive and thrive, we must first ensure we ourselves lead the charge, and also embolden our future leaders, to attend to personal reflection and well-being and ensure others do the same.

In a world where there are few answers, dental workers must take the lead to influence our community in a time when we are facing significant mental, physical, and societal change. The time is now. Evolve. Lead. Thrive. Let’s do this.