Risk factors of occupational burnout in dentists employed by state children's dental polyclinics

Recently occupational burnout has become more frequent among dentists. Exposure to stress is especially typical for those dentists who work with children. We identified risk factors that caused developing occupational burnout among dentists employed by state children’s dental polyclinics. We performed comprehensive questioning with 120 dentists participating in it. They all were employed by state children’s dental polyclinics in Saint Petersburg. Totally, there were 8 male participants and 112 female ones; their average age was 47.2 ± 11.34 years; average working experience as a dentist, 19.2 ± 13.6 years. The dentists filled in standardized questionnaires including Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), RAND SF-36 for assessing quality of life and Work Ability Index. Our study was designed as a “case - control” one. Based on the data of MBI, two groups were created: respondents with occupational burnout by two and three MBI scales (case) and respondents without any occupational burnout (control). To analyze risk factors of occupational burnout, we compared frequency of signs in the groups and calculated odds ratio and their statistical significance. Several significant risk factors of occupational burnout were identified for this group. They included age >40 years; working experience as a dentist >10 years; presence of chronic diseases and diseases of the musculoskeletal system; impaired physical functioning, general health, and emotional role functioning, as well as the integral quality of life index. Dentists aged 40-49 years have the highest risk of occupational burnout. Working experience that is longer than 20 years creates significantly elevated risks of occupational burnout. Chronic diseases and diseases of the musculoskeletal system as well as impaired quality of life multiply risks of occupational burnout. These research results can be used to develop activities aimed at preventing occupational burnout among dentists working with children.