Three Questions – and Answers – About Mental Health in Dentistry
There is no question that we are facing a serious mental health crisis in our country, and dentistry is no exception. Over the last two years, dental providers have been forced to overcome enormous challenges, compounding stress and anxiety. In an effort to help dentists find balance, Dr. Joy Void-Holmes answers three key questions.
Health care workers across the country have spent the last two years coping with enormous challenges, and dentistry is no exception. It has left many people seeking professional advice on how to better care for their own mental health and how to help patients who may be struggling.
To help answer some of those questions, Dr. Joy Void-Holmes, a registered dental hygienist, educator and speaker, answered our questions on overcoming mental health challenges in dentistry.
Every profession has stressors, but dentistry has some unique challenges. What are some of the things that may produce stress and anxiety as a dentist?
Since the onset of COVID, we’ve dealt with the fact that we, as dental professionals, are at high risk. Early on, there was stress and worry about contracting the illness and taking it home, about not having enough PPE, about not having enough staff. But then in addition to all of that, what added to the unique stressors was – and still is – the fear. Am I compliant? Am I not compliant? The CDC says one thing, OSHA says something else, the State Department says another. And then it can change again the next day. On top of all of that, once your last patient leaves, there’s still stress and worry as a business owner. Those are very unique things to dentistry, in particular.
In the oral health space, we're always encouraging our patients to take care of their preventive care — we call it Preventistry. How can we be proactive with our mental health?
In addition to taking care of our patients, we need to make sure that we're taking care of ourselves. We are in a business where we are so focused on giving to others that we forget to pour into our own glass. Prevention is absolutely key to mental health, yet what I found throughout my research is that the majority of mental health funds, about 80%, are dedicated to those in crisis mode. The problem is that by the time someone reaches crisis mode, it's already too late. If we were to divert some of those resources into proactive or preventive measures, I think we would see greater results.
Within a dental practice, that means having conversations — within the office, amongst your staff — checking in. It means making the office a safe place and a comfortable environment for co-workers and staff to be able to share their struggles. It also means being able to have those conversations with patients in a safe environment, asking them if there is anything they’re concerned about and helping them understand the connection between their mental and dental health.
What are the connections between mental health and oral health that patients should better understand?
Often for people who are suffering from mental health illnesses, typically the first thing to go would be their oral health. They stop brushing their teeth, they don’t take care of their oral health as much as they should. But on the flip side, for someone who has poor oral health — they're missing teeth or have really, really bad breath — that can sometimes contribute to mental illness. Yet, people don’t tend to think about it that way.
By creating those safe spaces and removing the stigma around mental health are things that we can do proactively to help prevent some of these challenges.
How can dental professionals maintain balance between their personal and professional lives?
One of the ways that professionals can maintain that balance is by creating clear personal and professional boundaries. By constantly trying to please people by saying yes to things when you should be saying no, or by putting yourself in uncomfortable situations just to make someone else's life easier, you’re blurring the lines between what your boundaries are. Instead, when you create clear and firm personal boundaries, what you're doing is creating space for the things that actually make a difference to you and it gives you an opportunity to take care of yourself.
To learn more, watch our latest Pearls of Wisdom episode in which Dr. Joy Void Holmes discusses the topic of mental health in dentistry and stay tuned for an upcoming webinar on the topic.