Understanding emotionally relevant situations in primary dental practice. 3. Emerging narratives

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Psychology
• Dental Practice Management

Background:

• Dentists face significant occupational stress, often focusing on negative emotional experiences.
• Positive clinical situations are frequently overlooked by practitioners.
• Reflection on difficult situations is crucial for professional learning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the application of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) formulations to both stressful and positive dental clinical scenarios.
• To analyze dentists' coping behaviors and their outcomes for enhanced learning.
• To investigate methods for facilitating objective reflective learning and emotional processing in dentists.

Main Methods:

• Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty primary care dental practitioners.
• Interviews explored dentists' stressful and positive clinical experiences.
• Selected episodes were analyzed to construct CBT formulations.

Main Results:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) formulations were developed for both positive and negative dental scenarios.
• The structured reconstruction highlighted dentists' emotions, responses, and the impact of coping strategies.
• This approach facilitates objective reflective learning.

Conclusions:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) formulation is a valuable technique for fostering reflection and learning in dental practice.
• This method can improve communication skills, shared decision-making, and reduce patient complaints and stress.
• It is proposed to enhance dentists' emotional processing and contribute to stress reduction.