Emotion dysregulation predicts burnout and wellbeing in dental practice

Objectives: Dentists are subject to a variety of stressors, including emotionally tense interactions with patients who are experiencing pain, anxiety and fear. The objective of this study was to provide the first empirical test of whether occupational burnout is higher, and general wellbeing is lower, for dentists who have greater difficulties detecting complex emotional states in others (mental state decoding), and managing their own emotions (emotion dysregulation).
Methods: 96 dentists completed validated measures of mental state understanding, emotion dysregulation, occupational burnout and wellbeing. For comparative purposes, 48 dental students completed the same assessments.
Results: The two groups performed comparably on all measures, except students reported greater feelings of anxiety and discomfort as a result of another’s negative experience (personal distress), and poorer management of their own emotions (emotion dysregulation). In both groups, emotion dysregulation and personal distress correlated significantly and substantially with wellbeing, as well as occupational burnout. The ability to detect emotional states in others was not consistently related to either of these constructs.
Conclusions: These data highlight the importance of being able to effectively manage difficult emotions in dental practice, with potential implications for training at University level as well as ongoing professional development.