Not My Circus, Still My Shift: Protecting Your Wellbeing in a Busy Dental Practice

Across many dental practices, teams are feeling the pressure of increased patient demand and the end-of-year rush.

Pressure is seemingly coming from all angles, and you're just not handling it the way you did at the beginning of the year.

First and foremost, know that you're not alone in feeling this way, and acknowledging what you're experiencing is the first step in choosing a better way.

No doubt the end-of-year season can get a little busy, but that doesn't mean you need to get swept away in the craziness.

So how do we safeguard ourselves against workplace stressors and finish 2026 strong? How do we head towards the Christmas season with ease, flow and joy, and enough energy left over to jingle all the way?

By getting clear on what we can control versus what we can't control.

I know that's easier said than done, so let's apply this mental strategy to a real-life scenario.

You're struggling to keep up with the appointment books, the front desk is squeezing patients in left, right and centre, and you feel like you're a conveyor belt labourer in a sweatshop. Emergency appointments are being squeezed into an already packed schedule, and your day as a dental professional feels less like patient care and more like crowd control.

Before you burst into your manager's office and blurt out something you might regret, pause.

What can you control here?

This is where you can use your Emotional Intelligence (EI) to better understand what you're feeling and perhaps what your manager is feeling.

Your EI tells you that you're feeling overwhelmed with the workload, tired from insufficient breaks, anxious from the lack of support, and frustrated from not being heard. Maybe you're moving from patient to patient with little breathing room in between.

While periods of stress are a normal part of working in a busy dental practice, it's important to recognise when stress may be developing into something more significant. Our article on recognising burnout in dentistry explores some of the common warning signs and what to do if burnout is beginning to affect your wellbeing.

Your EI also tells you that perhaps your manager is feeling pressured by patient demands, concerned with meeting their KPIs, guilty for asking too much of the team, and exhausted from fighting invisible battles.

Focusing on what's going on for you, as well as what could be going on for your manager, helps bring perspective to the situation.

It brings clarity to what you're feeling and needing, which then brings clarity to what you'll be requesting. It helps shape your planned conversation, reduces assumptions, and increases the chances of effective communication taking place.

Now comes time for having that constructive conversation with your manager.

You've focused on what you can control and written down the points you wish to discuss. Perhaps they revolve around ensuring lunch breaks are protected every day, having more of a say in how your day looks and time-blocking appointments, boundaries around working hours, and requesting more staff support to reflect increased patient demand and the realities of a busy dental practice.

You walk into your manager's office and calmly share your points.

Can you control what your manager will say?

No.

Can you control how your manager will feel?

No.

Can you control how your manager will respond to your points?

No.

And that's OK.

It's not your job to control the uncontrollable.

It's your job to control your thoughts, feelings, words and responses.

The conversation is done.

You walk out feeling proud that you've stood up for yourself and voiced your requests.

You can't control what your manager says, but you can control what you do with the new information.

Best-case scenario, your manager hears you, understands you and agrees to your requests. They can see your collaborative approach and desire to meet the needs of as many people as possible.

Woohoo! You've just carved the remainder of your year with a path dressed in energy, ease and flow.

Worst-case scenario, your manager hears you and denies every single request you've made.

Not a positive outcome by any means, but as hard as it is to believe, right in this pickle of a moment, you still have things you can control. That's where you need to focus your energy.

With the information at hand, you can control what you decide to do with it.

If you decide that it's good enough that you spoke up, then for the remainder of the year you can control how you survive work. Use your Resilience to get through each day, use every drop of energy for self-preservation, and use the Christmas lights as a beacon of hope pulling you toward the festive season.

If, after this conversation, you decide that your values, priorities and goals no longer align with this workplace, well that's a whole other decision to make. But ultimately, it's still a decision that's within your control.

As the final rush towards Christmas brings with it pressure, audacity and chaos, stay grounded and don't trade your wellbeing for compliance.

Whether you're a dentist, dental assistant, dental hygienist, oral health therapist, receptionist or practice manager, the principle remains the same: focus on what you can control and let go of what you can't.

There is something truly liberating about turning the spotlight of your attention onto what's within your control. For more tips, read our article on managing work-life balance during the holiday season.

Remember, that's where your agency, power and wellbeing truly lie.

Looking after your wellbeing is just as important as looking after your patients.

If workplace stress, fatigue or professional pressures are affecting you, Dental Practitioner Support provides free, confidential 24/7 support for dental practitioners and students across Australia.

Call 1800 377 700 to speak with a trained and qualified counsellor, anytime, anywhere.

Dr. Anh Makkar is a passionate advocate for mental health and wellbeing in the dental profession. After graduating from Sydney University in 2013, she practised dentistry for several years before facing personal struggles and burnout. This pivotal experience led her to the transformative field of Positive Psychology and the science of wellbeing, which she now shares with others to inspire positive and lasting change.

To learn more about Dr. Makkar's work and approach to wellbeing, visit Makkar Wellbeing.