Stress among dentists in Yemen

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the stress level among Yemeni dentists and to evaluate their stress manifestations and stress management.Materials and methods: Nearly 368 dentists were given a self-administered questionnaire and 119 returned the filled questionnaire form. A questionnaire was composed of four sections including, demographic information, professional practice characteristics, work stress factors and response of dentist to stress as well as methods to deal with stress. 56 females and 63 males were incorporated, 83.2% of them were general dental practitioners. The descriptive data were analyzed and Chi-square, t-test and F tests were used for statistical significance (P < 0.05).Results: The response rate was 32.3%. Of the whole, 71.4% of them were aged less than 30 years, 73.1% have experience less than 5 years. Among stressors, those related to dental procedure have highest mean scores (SD) of stress 2.93 (1.46). The most prevalent factors that contribute to stress were uncooperative patients (72.3%), amount of work (too much, too little) (60.5%) and constant drive for technical perfection (54.6%). Stress was reflected in dentists by many signs among them are musculoskeletal fatigue in 63% and nervousness in 57.1%. Praying and reading the Quran was reported by over two thirds (70.6%) of the participants to manage stress.Conclusions: Dentistry is a stressful profession in Yemen. Lack of experience, low income, uncooperative patients, and dental procedure-related factors were the main significant factors that caused stress. Political instability in the country and the lack of laws governing the dental profession in addition to conservative nature of the community may be considered as sources of stress.