Quality of life, mentalization, and perception of challenging patient encounters in dentistry: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated how exposure to challenging patient encounters influenced participants’ self-reported quality of life, and how participants’ mentalization capabilities affected the perceptions of challenging patients encounters among Norwegian dentists and dental students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data was collected with an online questionnaire, and a total of 165 dentists (n = 126) and dental students (n = 39) responded. RESULTS: Participants who reported higher total exposure of challenging encounters reported lower quality of life (QoL). Mentalization tendencies affected the perception of challenging encounters with specific types of patients; critical and anxious; as well as the estimation of the total exposure to challenging patient encounters. Participants that were overconfident with regards to the mental states of others found these patient types less challenging and they reported less overall exposure to challenging patients than underconfident participants. Also, overconfident participants reported higher QoL than underconfident participants. CONCLUSIONS: Mentalization capabilities of dental practitioners interact with the perception of challenging encounters in dental practice, and how practitioners respond to these challenges. Measures should be undertaken to increase the awareness of metacognitive skills in dentistry with the dual goal of improving patient care as well as the quality of life of dental practitioners.