The Pledge: Safeguarding the future of dentistry

When I think back to my time as a dental student, one phrase sticks in my mind more prominently than most textbook definitions or clinical protocols - that prevention is better than cure. It’s something we were taught to apply to our patients. I don’t however recall there being such a focus on applying this to ourselves.

Now that I am more advanced in my career and working at Dental Protection, I am really pleased that we can support a global initiative aimed at ensuring support is in place for dental students’ wellbeing 

At the recent FDI World Dental Congress, I was proud to represent both Dental Protection and The MPS Foundation, and be the first signatory on the FDI World Dental Foundation Pledge on their behalf.

Being a signatory isn’t just symbolic. It represents a genuine commitment by Dental Protection and The MPS Foundation to change how the profession supports its youngest members and protects their futures. 

What is the Pledge? 

Stress and anxiety in dentistry is a global issue and one that the FDI have targeted through podcasts, education and research. Globally, the FDI membership includes over one million dentists and 191 professional associations.

The Pledge is a key milestone of a wider FDI Project which aims to tackle stress and anxiety in dentistry. The project goals include: 

• Raising awareness of mental health challenges within dentistry. 

• Developing resources to support dental healthcare professionals worldwide. 

Commitments to meaningful student support

The pledge includes commitments to: 

• Equip educators with tools to identify and address students’ mental health concerns. 

• Prepare students for the transition from university into practice, including stress management and self-care strategies. 

• Provide tailored support services specifically for dental students. 

• Ensure students on clinical placements have access to mental health resources. 

This project was funded by The MPS Foundation, which supports research across dental and medical fields globally and, along with Dental Protection, is part of the Medical Protection Society. 

Why the Pledge matters

Dental Protection’s global surveys have revealed the scale of the challenges the profession face and a growing mental wellbeing crisis. A significant proportion of clinicians report feeling exhausted and burnt out but continue to work, as they feel unable to take time off. 

The consequences can be significant: 

• Some consider leaving the profession within years of graduating. More dentists are retiring early as the pressures of practice become insurmountable. 
• Many clinicians have said that working while struggling mentally has led to reduced concentration, diminished empathy, and increased fear of errors. 
• In one survey, 34% of the participants believed their mental health difficulties may have contributed to a lower standard of care. 

So, steps to improve wellbeing in the profession not only looks after our members’ health, it has the potential to retain clinicians in the profession and provide better standards of patient care. For us, fewer errors mean fewer members at risk of complaints and claims.

Why the focus must start on dental students 

It all comes back to ‘prevention is better than cure’. 

Many organisations, including Dental Protection, provide wellbeing support for the wider dental profession. But a missing piece of the puzzle has been starting at the beginning of the journey and being proactive, rather than reactive when addressing wellbeing concerns.

The need for student support is clear: 

• Studies globally show more than 50% of dental students experience high stress during training. 
• In their final years, many are already showing signs of burnout. 

Imagine starting a career already close to exhaustion – only to find that the pressures increase in practice. 

Students now not only face constant examinations and assessment of clinical skills, but have huge financial concerns, unprecedented expectations to excel, toxic peer pressure to have a social media presence whilst struggling to find sufficient patients to allow them to meet their clinical targets. Many feel isolated and scared to ask for help for fear of being seen as a ‘failure’. 

Our future dentists need early support and tools to ensure they are able to thrive, rather than just survive.

By signing the Pledge, we are doing more than acknowledging the problem. We are committing to being part of the solution: supporting dental students from the very beginning.

The Pledge is an opportunity to shift the culture of dentistry — one that has historically prioritised resilience over wellbeing — towards one that recognises that healthy clinicians provide better, safer care.

Our role – The MPS Foundation 

The MPS Foundation is committed to supporting the wellbeing of healthcare professionals and reducing burnout. Two recent research publications (Nurse Burnout and Patient Safety, Satisfaction, and Quality of Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis | Occupational Health | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network & Associations of physician burnout with career engagement and quality of patient care: systematic review and meta-analysis | The BMJ) show poor wellbeing and burnout is associated with more adverse events, patient safety events and lower professionalism, meaning more complaints and claims, rising claims costs and a greater impact on the affordability of indemnity. for our members. 

We have already supported a number of medical and dental projects that focus on the causes of poor wellbeing and burn out as well projects that explore what works. More details of our projects can be found at: Case studies List