Occupational Stress and Job Satisfaction in Prosthodontics: Implications for Clinical Performance and Patient Care Outcomes
Occupational stress; job satisfaction; prosthodontics; burnout; clinical performance; patient care outcomes; dental workforce; prosthodontist wellbeing.
AuthorsAbstractObjectives: This review aims to examine occupational stress and job satisfaction in prosthodontics and to discuss their implications for clinical performance, patient satisfaction, treatment quality, and patient care outcomes. Methods: A narrative review framework was employed to synthesize the literature that was relevant to the topics of prosthodontic practice, dental occupational stress, job satisfaction, burnout, clinical performance, patient safety, dentist-technician communication, and patient-centered care. The review systematised the evidence on six thematic areas, namely, conceptual foundations, stress determinants, satisfaction determinants, clinical performance effects, patient care implications, and management strategies. Results: Prosthodontics is associated with distinctive stressors, including complex restorative procedures, long chairside hours, high esthetic expectations, treatment failures, laboratory dependency, technological demands, financial pressure, and work-life imbalance. Occupational stress can decrease concentration, make decisions worse, weaken communication, become more fatigued, and create burnout. On the other hand, professional autonomy, career growth, sufficient income, supportive teams, effective dentist-technician relationships, and balanced workloads contribute to job satisfaction. Conclusions: The well-being, clinical accuracy, ethicality in decision-making, quality of communication, and patient-centered outcome are closely associated with the occupational stress and job satisfaction of prosthodontists. Clinical Relevance: Stress management and job satisfaction enhancement could enhance the quality of prosthodontic treatment, patient trust, prosthesis success, and overall patient care safety. 1. INTRODUCTION One of the most technical branches of dentistry is prosthodontics, as it involves a combination of biology, diagnosis, material choice, laboratory organization, computer technology, handwork, and patient rehabilitation. In contrast to many routine dental procedures, the treatment of prosthodontic patients may require a long approach to treatment planning, multiple visits, esthetic decision-making, adjustment of the denture, rehabilitation of the prosthesis using implants, removable and fixed prostheses, and repeated communication with patients and dental technicians. These clinical duties render the practice of prosthodontics intellectually stimulating, but they also make the working environment of a prosthodontist conducive to the development of occupational stress that can become common and chronic. Evidence that is specific to the specialty also demonstrates that the specialty is linked with some unique stressors, such as long treatment cycles, high esthetic demands, lab dependency, repeated adjustments, and treatment-remake issues [1]. Occupational stress is the psychological, emotional, and physiological pressure of work that surpasses the perceived resources, control, or capacity of an individual to cope. Stress is of particular interest in the field of healthcare as •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ejprd.org - Published by Riset Publishing Services LLC
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