The burnout syndrome in dentists of Porto Alegre, RS

Abstract

The dental surgeons are exposed daily to contacts with tense and anxious patients, to a long journey of work and many times face unfavorable work conditions. They are in constant risk of developing the burnout syndrome, a process that presents three components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and lack of personal accomplishment. In the present investigation, the level of burnout was studied in relation to the three factors of the syndrome. One hundred and Sixty nine dental surgeons„ composed the sample of Porto Alegre's dentists that answered to the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The questionnaires were taken to their work place to be self answered. The results showed that the dental surgeons of this sample presented low levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, and very low grades of lack of personal professional situation was significantly associated to the sub scales of the MBI, suggesting that the characteristics of the organisational structure of work are more important to explain the burnout syndrome than personal variations.