Chairside Connection: Making lemonade, and other strategies for navigating life’s stressors
Our profession, the holidays, and stress all go hand in hand. What can we do to keep our cool now and year round? In my discussion with Karen Davis, BSDH and Philips key opinion leader, she notes that emotional stressors have a huge impact on quality of life and wellness for both dental professionals and our patients.
Dentistry is a high-stress profession to begin with. Add difficult patients, tech problems, overhead, staffing, running behind, and it all adds up, especially when Covid and its aftermath was added to the mix.
Karen said she’s the “poster child” for adversity. She had a lot of experience and figured out how navigate stressful and emotional times. Her experience came during the 14 years her husband navigated cancer and she was his caregiver, all while maintaining her hygiene position. She credits him as her inspiration for making lemonade during life’s setbacks.
A few of the ideas she frequently shares with her peers are be fully present, savor the good things, there’s something to mind over matter, and be grateful. This truly is a choice. She also reminds us to remember that stress applies to patients as well. Compassion is seeing beyond our own pain and recognizing the pain of others. If someone’s oral health is suffering due to stressors, that’s where she recommends several of the effective tools she’s found through Philips.
More Chairside Connections
Insurance benefits and getting paid for what you do
The partnership between dentists and dental hygienists in patient care
To watch more informative videos from industry leaders, visit dentaleconomics.com/videos or dentistryiq.com/videos.
