Job stressors of New Zealand dentists and their coping strategies.
BACKGROUND
Dentistry is understood to be a stressful profession. Although there has been recent research about stress and dentistry in the UK and the Netherlands, little is known about the job stressors and coping strategies of New Zealand dentists.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate job stressors and coping strategies among New Zealand dentists.


METHODS
A nationwide postal survey of a representative sample of 700 dentists.


RESULTS
The response rate was 65%. The most commonly reported stressors were treating difficult children (52%), constant time pressure (48%) and maintaining high levels of concentration (43%). The strategies most utilized for managing work-related stress included interactions with people (78%), sports (64%) and forgetting about work (59%). Dentists who had graduated overseas reported more sources of stress than New Zealand graduates. There were differences in the strategies used by male and female practitioners to manage stress.


CONCLUSIONS
There is considerable variation in the number of stressors experienced by dentists. Overseas-qualified dentists appear to be under more stress than New Zealand-trained dentists and may need greater professional support. Dentists should be encouraged to make greater use of active coping strategies.
Ayers
K M S
KM
Department of Oral Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. katie.ayers@mac.com
Thomson
W M
WM
Newton
J T
JT
Rich
A M
AM
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D005260:Female; D005551:Foreign Professional Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D005792:General Practice, Dental; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016526:Workload