Smiling Through Stress: Burnout in the Dental Profession
Burnout is a biological stress response, not a personal weakness. Drawing on polyvagal theory and allostatic load, Dr Mary Dawjee explains how chronic stress changes the clinician's brain and body, and why recovery starts with regulating the nervous system.
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Smiling Through Stress: Burnout in the Dental Profession
Burnout in our profession is not a mindset problem, it is a biological one. Dr Mary Dawjee, a general dentist from Johannesburg, sets out how common burnout really is in dentistry and healthcare. She breaks it down into its three core components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment. Dr Dawjee explains the physiology of stress, including the autonomic nervous system, polyvagal theory, allostatic load, and the inflammatory and neurological changes that chronic stress produces in the clinician’s brain and body. She introduces practical tools for regulation and recovery, from nervous system hygiene and breathing techniques to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy’s Wise Mind framework, along with organisational strategies that practices can put in place to protect their teams. You will leave with a clear biological understanding of burnout and the means to recognise it, regulate and recover before it becomes chronic.
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Meet Dr Mary Dawjee
Dr Mary Dawjee
Dr Mary Dawjee is a South African aesthetic and restorative dentist, Digital Smile Design (DSD) Master and passionate educator. She has more than 15 years of clinical experience, and her work sits at the intersection of facially driven dentistry, digital treatment planning, aesthetics, function and holistic patient care. Her philosophy is deeply influenced by the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, which…
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10/1/2025 to 9/30/2027.
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