Trading burnout for bliss: Cultivating joy and resilience in dentistry

It’s a typical Tuesday morning at the office: you’re scheduled to see 10 patients before lunchtime as well as check hygiene patients, review bills and payroll so you can get those over to the bookkeeper by evening, clean out emails/review charts/return messages (which necessitates working through most of your lunch “break”), and remember what the marketing and social media focus is supposed to be this week.

You deescalate your first patient, who is angry about the cost of dentistry. You remain calm with your second patient, who is nervous and afraid of “needles” despite displaying multiple piercings and tattoos. Then you sit down to compassionately listen to your third patient, who is crying because their dog died. And did you remember to pack a change of clothes for the dental society meeting tonight? Augh!

Dentistry is physically, mentally, and energetically demanding. Add personal life stress to the mix, and you may feel depleted at the end of the day. Health care is in crisis, and burnout is rampant! In my 2023 original research surveying and interviewing hundreds of health-care providers across the United States, 20% reported that their work contributed to physical pain, and more than one third felt that working with the demands of health care contributed to stress/frustration, worry/anxiety, loss of ambition, depression, and mental exhaustion.¹

According to a 2024 survey by the American Dental Association, an overwhelming 82% of dentists report feeling major stress.² The negative effects manifest everywhere: your physical and mental health suffer, performance in your dental practice may become a challenge, stress shows up in relationships with your family and friends, and the ability to bring your best self to the greater community is diminished.

But burnout is not inevitable! There is hope for health-care providers, and relief may be less expensive and easier to access than you think. This article provides practical tools and strategies for burnout prevention so you can live with greater joy, resilience, and overall well-being.

What is burnout?

Burnout has been defined as “physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress.”³ So why is burnout so prevalent in dentistry? As we all know, dentistry essentially involves microsurgery, and we measure the success or failure of a restoration in terms of microns. To provide this level of precision, we’re frequently required to contort our bodies into positions more typical of a Cirque du Soleil performer! In addition to ergonomic challenges, the psychological and emotional demands of managing patient anxiety and resistance to recommended treatment in dentistry can drain our energy and resilience.

Newer dentists may have the financial pressure of educational debt, and seasoned dentists may wonder if they have enough savings to scale down their schedule or retire. Whether you work in a corporation or as a solo practitioner, the reality of production quotas and managing a health-care business complete with employees, invoices, regulations (think HIPAA, OSHA, continuing education, cybersecurity, etc.), and receivables can be daunting.

And if you did everything “right”—you provided excellent care and service, your patients and team members are happy, you produced and collected sufficiently to pay all your invoices and still make a good living, and you haven’t thrown out your back or had a nervous breakdown in the process—you may find that you don’t have much energy left for your family, friends, or even taking care of yourself.

What you need to overcome burnout

So, what’s the antidote? In today’s hustle and bustle world, it’s easy to become disembodied. Billboards, email and social media notifications, inflammatory news, and the everyday demands of both your personal and professional life can distract you from being aware of yourself. The good news is that you already have everything you need to reduce your risk of burnout and practice self-care, and it all begins with self-awareness.

Right now, pause and notice your breathing: is it shallow and rapid? Are you breathing from your chest only, or your diaphragm as well? Is your mouth open, or are you breathing through your nose (nasal breathing is the goal)? And as you survey your breath, what else do you notice? Is your jaw tight? Are your shoulders elevated or slouched forward? Is there tension in your belly, or have your ribs collapsed? What other sensations do you notice?

Breath is unique in that it happens automatically through the autonomic nervous system without consciously thinking about it. Yet you can also control your breath to intentionally self-regulate. Rather than trying to take a deep inhalation, start by exhaling completely, squeezing out stale air. Then allow the next breath in to happen organically, without any effort. You may notice that your lungs are able to expand more completely. If you’re feeling anxious, try counting how long you breathe in, and as you breathe out slowly, make each exhalation just a bit longer than the breath in. If it’s comfortable, practice lengthening your exhalations until they become twice as long as your inhalations. Breathe this way for several breath cycles. What do you notice?

As you build your foundation of self-care, tune in to your body and your breath multiple times throughout the day. Ask yourself, What do I need right now? Do you need to hydrate? Do you need to close your eyes and rest? Do you need to eat something nutritious? Are you feeling sluggish and in need of some fresh air or a brisk walk? When you check in with yourself and attend to your needs regularly, you’ll notice what your mind and body are telling you. Much as you would care for a small child who needs a healthy snack or a nap or some outdoor playtime, you can care for yourself and intervene before you feel like a toddler about to have a tantrum. Your physical, mental, and emotional/energetic wellness are intimately interrelated, and you can’t have one while ignoring the others.

Managing boundaries and workload

What about managing your boundaries and workload? First and foremost, don’t go it alone! You might think that handling your own payroll and invoices is saving you professional fees, but in the long run, enlisting the expertise of payroll companies, bookkeepers, accountants, and others reduces your workload and liability, as well as helps to preserve your sanity. Enlist the help of your team members with any tasks that they can legally deliver: social media posts, fabricating provisional restorations, and delivering local anesthesia where licensed. Asking for help frees you to care for your patients and yourself as well. And have you practiced saying “no” lately? While it’s wonderful to volunteer your time, skills, and talents, it’s also OK to say, “I’m sorry, I’m not available for that at this time.”

Do you feel like you simply don’t have time to add one more “to-do” item to your day? Self-care and stress management can be practiced in microdoses. You can practice mindful nasal breathing while waiting in line at the grocery store, while administering anesthesia, and truly any time of day. No time for physical exercise? Consider a minibreak of simple stretches in between patients and/or at the beginning and end of the day. No time to meditate? You can practice mindfulness meditation by scanning your surroundings with all your senses as you commute to work or walk to the restroom. And while you’re at it, remember to make time for hydration, even if you need to set a reminder on your smartphone.

You already have the resources you need to avoid burnout and move closer to bliss. As you reflect on your “why” or purpose (maybe you chose dentistry because you want to help people be healthier or because you like to use your hands and your mind creatively) and your “what” or intention (you want to help your patients live without pain or have confidence in their smile), you will naturally move closer to joy. Practicing gratitude—whether that’s in written form or simply recalling three things for which you are grateful in your life each day—fosters a sense of contentment and abundance.

Simple shifts reap tremendous rewards

The challenges and stressors in your life may not change appreciably, but what can change is how you respond to those stressors, how you manage your reactions, and how you take care of yourself. By checking in with yourself throughout the day, noticing both your breath and your body, you become more self-aware. From self-awareness, you are empowered to practice self-care. When you are self-aware, self-caring, and self-compassionate, you become more aware, caring, and compassionate toward others, and you bring your best self to the world.

What one next best step can you commit to implementing today? Will you get up five minutes earlier in the morning to meditate? Will you place sticky notes in your operatory and office to remind you to stretch? Will you practice mindful breathing while you commute? Whatever small shift you make, know that your patients will benefit, your friends and family will thank you, and you’ll live a life of well-deserved wellness and joy (or dare I say, bliss!).

For further ideas and resources on self-awareness, yoga, breathing, mindfulness, and holistic health, check out my best-selling book, Bliss, Not Burnout: Hope for Health Care Providers, on Amazon, or reach me at my website.

Editor's note: This article appeared in the October 2025 print edition of Dental Economics magazine. Dentists in North America are eligible for a complimentary print subscription. Sign up here. 

References

1. Garceau R. Bliss, Not Burnout: Hope for Health Care Providers. Roberta Garceau; 2024:chap 3:15.
2. ADA Communications Trend Report: 2024. American Dental Association Council on Communications. https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/about/press-releases/2024_trend_report.pdf
3. Definition of burnout. New Oxford American Dictionary. https://www.oxfordreference.com/search?q=burnout&searchBtn=Search&isQuick
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