A review of burnout in dentists.

Burnout, a distinct psychological construct that has a number of features which separate it from occupational stress, is strongly associated with the emotional effects of providing patient- or client-centred services. Depression may be a consequence of prolonged experience of burnout. Recent findings suggest that burnout has features of maladaptive coping in the short term but is, paradoxically, protective in the longer term. Dentists are prone to burnout due to the nature of their work but may be able to prevent it if they can recognize the burnout process and take regular holiday breaks. Burnout is assumed to have an adverse influence on patient care, although no dental studies, as yet, have tackled the issue.