Article
Confidental: a 24/7 confidential helpline for dentists by dentists
Last week another dentist took their own life. I'm aware of three others during COVID, which is four too many. All were male, all were not young and, as far as I'm aware, none had reached out for help.
Dentistry can be a stressful profession in which the importance of mental health is often overlooked, and the uncertainty about where to seek help can be overwhelming. Over time, this has led to high rates of depression and suicide among dental professionals in the UK. In order to improve the situation and work towards prevention, the helpline Confidental was founded, which offers emotional support for dentists and is provided by their peers.
The purpose of Confidental is to provide emotional first aid around the clock for dentists in distress. The helpline is manned by trained volunteers who are all dentists and give their time freely in order to listen to colleagues. They are not judgemental and may often be able to trigger a cathartic point from which the caller can begin to think about the right solutions for themselves. Sometimes we can offer callers signposting to others who are best able to provide further assistance. Frequently, we are told by callers that merely having the time to talk about their concerns has been extremely helpful.
We are all aware of how dentistry can be a stressful occupation. The psychological stress of caring for patients, combined with fears of litigation or investigation by the regulators and worries about running a small business, managing staff and fulfilling contractual obligations can all add to the everyday trauma of life, and this sometimes spills over into sleepless nights and even thoughts of suicide. In January 2019, researchers from the British Dental Association1 found high levels of stress and burn-out among more than 2000 UK dentists, of whom almost a fifth (17.6%) admitted that they had seriously thought about suicide. As a profession, we pay lip service to occupational and mental health until circumstances force us to consider it.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put additional stress and worries on oral healthcare workers. The calls to the helpline have changed as the pandemic has gone on. Initially, it was about lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) in practices. The emphasis soon changed to financial worries, as money became tight and associates and principals became concerned about their income. In the more recent stages of the pandemic, the calls have moved on to focus on advanced PPE, fit testing and anxiety about returning to work.
It has shown that, although the majority of the members of the profession behave decently towards their colleagues, this is not universal. Pre-COVID-19, general worries expressed on calls included bullying as a recurrent theme, whether in practice or by regulators. The callers quite often say that they feel like they cannot discuss such matters with anyone else and that they chose to contact us because our service is confidential.
‘Dentistry can be a very insular profession and, unless we take care, it will become more so.’
The team at Confidental is available day and night and can be reached at: 0333 987 5158.
