Burnout and professional quality of life among Israeli dentists: the role of sensory processing sensitivity

Abstract

Aim Dentistry is a stressful and exhausting profession with high levels of burnout. Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a basic personality trait characterised by a gradient of sensitivity to both internal and external stimuli, including social and emotional cues. In this study, the influence of SPS on burnout and professional quality of life among Israeli dentists was analysed. Methods Two‐hundred and forty‐three Israeli dentists responded to questionnaires that collected information on their SPS and professional quality of life (burnout, satisfaction at work and level of secondary traumatic stress), as well demographic variables, professional specialisation and workload. Results Linear regression analyses showed that burnout can be predicted by the three aspects of SPS (ease of excitation, low sensory threshold and aesthetic sensitivity; 32% of the variance). Additionally, the same three aspects of SPS also predicted dentists’ satisfaction at work (24% of the variance). Ease of excitation and low sensory threshold, but not aesthetic sensitivity, predicted dentists’ reaction to their patients’ stress and trauma (23% of the variance). Conclusions Sensory processing sensitivity can serve as a tool to identify dentists who are prone to develop burnout and whose professional quality of life can be adversely affected by their profession.

Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Compassion Satisfaction as Risk/Protective Factors from Burnout and Compassion Fatigue in Healthcare and Education Professionals

“…Finally, in view of the influence of compassion satisfaction and high sensitivity on compassion fatigue observed, regardless of sector, the dimensions of sensory processing sensitivity, ease of excitation and aesthetic sensitivity, increased compassion fatigue, while the effect of compassion satisfaction reduced compassion fatigue. These findings enable us to confirm that sensory processing sensitivity is a factor influencing quality of life of care professionals [ 36 ]. Our results report on a high percentage of professionals with compassion fatigue, predicted by ease of excitation and aesthetic sensitivity.…”

“…From the results found, emotional exhaustion was observed to be reduced in both sectors with increased compassion satisfaction, while the increase in ease of excitation would contribute to increasing emotional exhaustion, with compassion satisfaction having a larger effect size. In agreement with these results, some authors [ 36 ] have found that ease of excitation predicts the reaction to stress, whereas others [ 8 ] have found that higher compassion satisfaction could predict less emotional exhaustion.…”

Independent Dentists in the UK have less access to Occupational Health

“…A recent survey by Toon et.al of 1513 dentists in the UK found statistically significant relationship (p<0.01, β=0.67) between work related stress and burnout in UK dentists amongst other factors [7]. Research in other parts of the world have highlighted similar findings over the last two decades [8,9]. OH can provide timely intervention for fitness to continue working by suggesting restrictions/adjustments, referral to employee assistance programme to access counselling services and ongoing review [10].…”

A Qualitative Exploration of Individual Differences in Wellbeing for Highly Sensitive Individuals

“…Predominant characteristics of high SPS individuals (e.g., Aron, 1996Aron, , 2004Aron, , 2011 run counter to broader social discourses around wellbeing that dominate WEIRD cultures such as Australia. Indeed, SPS typically is portrayed as a negative characteristic that sets individuals up for a range of illbeing outcomes (e.g., Bakker & Moulding, 2012;Booth et al, 2015;Listou Grimen & Diseth, 2016;Meyerson, Gelkopf, Eli, & Uziel, 2019). Yet despite this misfit, some high-SPS individuals do experience high levels of wellbeing (Black & Kern, 2020;Sobocko & Zelenski, 2015).…”