The prevalence of professional burnout among dentists: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Professional burnout refers to mental weariness caused by occupational stress. However, there is a lack of systematic studies on the prevalence of professional burnout among dentists. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of professional burnout among dentists. Databases including PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science were systematically searched from inception to 28 October 2021. The random-effects model and forest plots were used to assess the pooled prevalence of professional burnout among dentists. A total of 15 studies with a total of 6038 study subjects were included in the meta-analysis, and the overall professional burnout among dentists was 13% (95%CI: 6–23). Subgroup analysis suggested a high prevalence of burnout in Europe, and the least in the Americas. The pooled burnout prevalence in cross-sectional surveys was significantly lower than that in longitudinal studies. In addition, the overall burnout prevalence in the last decade was significantly lower than that of a decade ago. This meta-analysis demonstrated that the prevalence of burnout was relatively low among dentists, and there was a downward trend. Therefore, it is important to continue to pay close attention to the mental health of dentists and effectively prevent and treat professional burnout to better maintain the provision of health care services.

Summary

• The overall prevalence of professional burnout among dentists was 13%.

• Subgroup analysis revealed that the prevalence of burnout differed in geographical regions, with the highest in Europe, followed by Asia, and the lowest in America.

• The pooled burnout prevalence in cross-sectional surveys was significantly lower than that in longitudinal studies. In addition, the overall burnout prevalence in the last decade was significantly lower than that of a decade ago.

• More attention should be paid to professional burnout among dentists to improve the provision of health care services.

KEYWORDS:

• Prevalence
• Professional burnout
• Dentists
• Meta-analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing (No. CSTB2022NSCQ-MSX1148) and the National Natural Science Foundations of China (No. 81870775).