DentaltownUK August 2017 - 6

mike gow

column

'To Stress a Point'
Stress management for dentists
Holmes and Rahe famously developed the social
readjustment rating scale (aka The Holmes and Rahe
Stress Scale) back in 1967 to help identify people who
may be more at risk of health issues related to stress.1,2
One common understanding of the word stress is that
it is a 'condition or feeling experienced when a person
perceives that demands exceed the personal and social
resources the individual is able to mobilise'.
This sense of 'demands exceeding resources' seems
to be more prevalent than ever in the profession now.
This was highlighted recently when an unofficial online
poll for dentists (with no quality assurance) revealed
that out of 964 registrants, 62 percent said either they
or someone they knew has suffered mental health issues
that required professional treatment due to an FTP case
at the GDC.
Ninety-five percent admitted to practicing 'defensive
dentistry' through fear of the GDC and a staggering
87 percent admitted to having considered leaving the
profession.3 These statistics certainly suggest that further
robust investigation is merited. New social media groups
for dentists/dentistry have arisen, dedicated to the topic
of supporting dentists in crisis.
Holmes and Rahe1 ask 43 questions about various
life events in the preceding year, ranging from the death
of a partner to the birth of a child. Each question's score
is weighted, as obviously certain life events are likely
to create more or less stress than others. The end score
reveals the likelihood of the respondent experiencing
health issues related to stress in the near future. The
obvious issues with such a scale are that it does not allow
for unusual sources of stress to be recorded, and that
not everyone will interpret 'stressful events' in the same
way. It would be hard to know where,
for example, difficulties conditions or
demands at work, a patient complaint
or a GDC FTP hearing would fit into
the scale when responding.
Nevertheless, importantly Holmes
and Rahe's scale recognises that
usually for the 'demands to exceed
the resources', there is more than one

stressful trigger/event. It is therefore extremely likely
that a dentist who scores highly on the scale is more at
risk should they then experience a patient complaint or
FTP hearing. I believe it would be a useful exercise for
dentists to take the test for themselves to help identify
if they're already perhaps at risk. An active complaint
or FTP hearing would obviously then add considerable
additional stress and increase the risk of health issues.
For those interested, an online version of the scale
can be found here.
As the discussion about stress in dentistry and
especially the impact of GDC FTP hearings increases,
the discussion about solutions and sources of support
increases as well. There have been several articles in
DentaltownUK recently which are particularly relevant
to these topics.
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'Finding the Right Work/Life Balance'
by Niall Campbell: Part 1 and Part 2.
'Plan Z' by Stephen Hudson.
'Stress: What Exactly Is It and How Do We
Manage It?' by Aditi Goel.
'Regulating Dentists in the UK' by Stephen
Jacobs.
'Managing Systemic Disorder' by Stephen
Hudson.
'Overcoming Stress in Dentistry' by Mohammad
Moinuddin.
'Time Management Tips for Busy Dentists' by
Allun Rees.
'How Can Dentists and Dental Students Minimise the Level of Stress That They Experience?'
by Kishan Sheth.
'Tackling Stress and Burnout in Dentistry' by
Anish Patel and Balraj Sohal appears in this issue.

I think it is important that all dentists read these
articles. We're happy to talk to patients about the
importance of prevention in dental health, and we
should be taking a leaf out of our own book and really
understand the importance of prevention in our mental
health. Understand the triggers that make you stressed,

by Michael A. Gow BDS (Gla) MFDS RCPS (Gla) MSc Hyp (Lon) PGCert (Edin), editor, DentaltownUK magazine

AUGUST 2017 // dentaltownuk.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DentaltownUK August 2017