Self-Care = Quality Care in Dental Hygiene

Taking Time for You Helps You Take Better Care of Your Patients

By Suzanne L Vila, RDH, PHDHP, B.A.

As a dental hygienist, you know that the work you do is valuable for your patients' oral health, well-being, and overall health. But whether you are loving your dental hygiene career or merely trying to survive each clinical day, you also know that practicing dental hygiene can be challenging to your mind & body on a daily basis.  How we handle the “Hygiene Life” stress (or don’t handle it!) can affect not only how we feel but how we practice and provide care to our patients who need us.

Being mindful of what we need for ourselves so that we can be the best for our patients must be a priority.  Often, we feel selfish or are made to feel high maintenance for recognizing or trying to practice self-care.  Too often, we sacrifice our own care to give our practices and patients more and more.

What toll is that imbalance taking on us?  

Does that imbalance eventually take a toll on patient care?

The Self-Care Stigma

Isn’t self-care supposed to mean taking care of yourself?  When and why did it turn into a term for pampering or luxury?  If you have fallen into the trap of thinking taking care of yourself is just an occasional luxury, it’s time to rethink that.

Taking care of ourselves is not always easy.  According to the National Alliance on Mental Health4, there are several reasons that people struggle with self-care such as:

• We Think Self-Care is Selfish - Because we learn about opposites at a young age, we tend to put that thinking into self-care.  We think that taking care of ourselves first means we are selfish, which is why we often shy away from it. But in reality, we have to be well in order to help others be well.  Think about that…You cannot pour from an empty cup! 

• We Think Self-Care is Expensive - Because self-care has been a popular buzzword, it has led to a rise in an industry dedicated to providing us products and services that foster calm and peace.  While those options are nice, there are many ways to care for ourselves that are free and fast.  (Keep reading for Tips!)

• We Ignore Our Needs - Overcoming the work hard/play hard mentality can be challenging. We are often taught that listening to our feelings when we need a break or a change equals weakness, which is furthest from the truth and just leads to numbing our feelings.  Pushing down how we really feel can lead to heightened stress and eventually burnout.  

The Toll of Burnout

You probably already know that we have a shortage of dental hygienists right now.  According to the Journal of Dental Hygiene, 8% of dental hygienists have left their clinical practice since the pandemic.3  While every hygienist has their own personal reason for leaving, burnout may play a significant role.

According to the World Health Organization, “Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed...Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”2  This means that burnout is a work thing that should be recognized. To address it, you can take steps to practice self-care that can reduce your risks or reverse the symptoms you might already have. 

Signs of Burnout Include:

• Exhaustion

• Career Negativity and Cynicism

• Reduced Professional Efficacy

If you read those signs, you realize that any one of those will affect your ability to provide quality care to your patients and your day-to-day relationships with your colleagues. How many do you experience?  

When we are experiencing burnout, we lose that feeling of satisfaction that makes us happy and productive dental professionals.

Your Health Matters

Mental and physical challenges are typical of the dental hygiene profession.  Addressing those challenges begins with recognizing whether you are feeling mental stress, physical stress, or both.  And understanding how these challenges not only affect you but also your patient care sheds light on why you sometimes need to focus on YOU. In addition, it is important to note that your contribution to practice success relies on you being your physical and mental best and may lead you to an epiphany about your self-care requirements.

A recent study by the Oregon Dental Hygienists Association set out to determine the prevalence of stress and stressors among dental hygienists in determining the effects of it on overall health and well-being.  Their conclusion is that symptoms of depression and anxiety are common in dental hygienists.  The most common stressors were practice time constraints, demands of patients, lack of work-life balance, and physical pain.1 

As dental hygienists, we know pain!  Our hands, neck, back, hips, and shoulders tell us each day how hard we have worked.  In fact, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common among clinical dental professionals. MSDs impact both our career longevity and satisfaction. Studies have shown that up to 93% of oral health professionals suffer from MSDs with dental hygienists being most affected.5   

While it might seem to you that your physical pain is only your problem, it can also affect how you care for your patients and your employer’s bottom line.  Think about it. Pain can make you change how you practice clinically.  If you hurt, you may avoid movements that cause the pain, movements that may be best clinically for the patient.  But not only patient care is compromised by chronic pain.  Pain can lead to injury and illness that can cause a dental hygienist to miss work.  A dental hygienist who is sick means lost production if patients have to be rescheduled, more expensive if the office must employ a temporary dental service, and reduced continuity of care for their patients, which may lower patient satisfaction.  

So, in the end, cultivating a self-care regimen is a benefit to you, your patients, AND your employer!

Self-Care Options

• Clinical Ergonomics & Workplace Communication - In order to reduce physical pain, you have to start in your office, how you practice and communicate.  Make sure to discuss your concerns about your physical health with your employer and come up with a plan to reduce risks.  

Simple changes such as having loupes, saddle chairs, and easily accessible computers can reduce physical strain. 

Discussing your schedule and how to make it more efficient while providing you with the physical breaks you need to revive between patients and how it actually makes care more efficient and productive is a vital conversation.

• Massage & Chiropractic Care - Don't make the mistake of thinking massages are a luxury or a spa day.  Massage therapy can help reduce tension and loosen tight muscles that are bound by chairside stresses.  In addition, chiropractic care can be a useful tool to help you balance the physical imbalance of poor ergonomics and the demands of difficult patients. 

But keep in mind that if time or finances prevent you from accessing these services, you can always look for at-home massage tools and therapies to ease your muscles tension.

• Fitness & Mindfulness - For some, going to the gym is a great way to reduce stress and stay healthy.  But for others, mind & body fitness is the way to go.  While any type of exercise can be a great part of a self-care routine, you might want to consider strategies that foster that feeling of calm and release.  

Some of the best self-care routines for dental hygienists involve:

• Mindful Walking

• Yoga 

• Daily Stretching

• Relaxation & Meditation Apps

Self-Care = Quality Care!

After over 30 years of practicing clinical hygiene, I know that when I am feeling my best, I am doing my best. When I am feeling tired, drained, frustrated, or in pain, I know that I need to address it.  The best way to keep the symptoms in check is to practice self-care on a regular basis before it causes me harm. When stressors are high, I know that I need to give myself even more care!

Incorporating a mindful, well-balanced self-care routine can help you feel better, prevent burnout, and help you be the best hygienist for your patients.  Taking time to discover what works for you may involve some trial and error but is well worth the journey!

Join Us for the Hygiene Summit

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About the Author: Suzanne L. Vila, RDH, PHDHP, B.A.

Suzanne is a Registered Dental Hygienist in a private periodontal practice and adjunct faculty at a local college in Central Pennsylvania. After a thirty-year career in dental hygiene, Suzanne is now creating non-clinical projects involving professional enhancement, public health, and patient education. In addition to being a passionate dental practitioner, Suzanne enjoys teaching fitness classes such as Pilates, yoga, and indoor cycling, volunteering with the local dog rescue Pitties.Love.Peace, and spending time with her family and their two rescued pit bulls, Rudy & Freya.

Resources:

1. Barnard, SaraJane A., et al. “Mental Health and Self-Care Practices among Dental Hygienists.” Journal of Dental Hygiene, American Dental Hygienists' Association, 1 Aug. 2020, https://jdh.adha.org/content/94/4/22.

2. “Burn-out an ‘Occupational Phenomenon’: International Classification of Diseases.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
3. Gurenlian JR, Morrissey R, Estrich C, et al. Employment patterns of dental hygienists in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Dent Hyg. 2021;95(1):17-24. Accessed June 10, 2021. https://jdh.adha.org/content/jdenthyg/95/1/17.full.pdf

4. Mahrer, Britt. “Why You Struggle with Self-Care.” NAMI, https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/December-2019/Why-You-Struggle-with-Self-Care.

5. Thomason, Shannon C., et al. “An inside Look at Musculoskeletal Disorders among Dental Hygienists.” Dimensions of Dental Hygiene, 26 Feb. 2021, https://dimensionsofdentalhygiene.com/article/an-inside-look-at-musculoskeletal-disorders-among-dental-hygienists/#spu-form-43887.