[Signs, symptoms and prevention of professional burnout]

Most people are surprised to hear that many dentists suffer from burnout and that there is a lot of unhappy practitioners that would rather be elsewhere than in their dental offices. The public refers to dentistry as a profession which is quite easy to deal with, not very stressful and without surprises, a well paid one, etc. In fact, the consequences of a fixed daily routine, working with unappreciative patients, organizing the dental office and staff, coping with tight schedules, and concentrating on very small tasks result in burnout among dentists. What causes this emotional dropout or burnout among dentists? Can it be prevented or managed by practitioners? This article proposes a pattern for the evolution of burnout among dentists and enumerates the various physical and psychological signs or symptoms that could lead to the prevention and/or management of the stress and professional difficulties related to being a dentist.