Paediatric dentists are considered to be the group of specialists most exposed to occupational stress. Their health status, quality of life (QoL) and working conditions may have impact on quality of their working activities. During the last decade burnout syndrome has been increasingly reported among dentists. It may lead to QoL impairment and negative changes in health. By now data about QoL and burnout syndrome in paediatric dentists is lacking.
Methods
One hundred and twenty dentists from 8 municipal dental clinics of St. Petersburg that provide dental care for children were included in the study. All the dentists completed generic QoL questionnaire RAND SF-36, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and checklist consisting of 10 questions regarding demographic characteristics. Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment were evaluated by MBI; the final scores were categorized as high, moderate and low based on standard test scores. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and chi-squared test.
Study Population
93% of participants were female, mean age – 47.2 years ± 11.3, the mean work experience – 19 years. According to specialisation the distribution was as follows: paediatric dentists – n=83, orthodontic dentists – n=25, dental surgeons – n=12. The above subgroups did not differ by age and gender (p>0.05).