Understanding emotionally relevant situations in primary care dental practice: 1. Clinical situations and emotional...

The stressful nature of dental practice is well established. Much less information is available on the coping strategies used by dentists and the emotions which underlie the stressful experience. Previous research has been almost exclusively questionnaire-based, limiting the range of emotions explored. This study used qualitative methods to explore the full extent of emotions and coping strategies associated with stressful events in primary dental practice.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 dentists in Lincoln and the surrounding area. Verbatim transcriptions were analysed using thematic analysis.

Participants reported a wide variety of stressful situations, consistent with the existing literature, which were associated with a diverse range of negative emotional responses including anxiety, anger and sadness. Dentists tended to have more difficulty identifying positive events and emotions. The designation of a situation as stressful or otherwise was dependent on the dentist's personal interpretation of the event. Data relating to the effects of stressors and the coping strategies used by dentists will be presented in subsequent papers.

The situations which dentists find difficult are accompanied by a diverse set of emotions, rather than omnipresent 'stress.' This has implications for stress management programmes for those in dental practice.