ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to determine the role of gender, years of practice, academic degree, and place of employment on burnout levels of Turkish orthodontists. This study was carried out on 167 members of the Turkish Orthodontic Society who are either at private or faculty practice. Directed towards this; prepared socio-demographic information forms and "Maslach Burnout Inventory Manuals" were sent to orthodontists. Analysis of variance, Tukey HSD, Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney-U and t-tests were performed for statistical evaluation of received responses. Gender had no association with the burnout levels. On the other hand, place of employment, years of orthodontic practice and academic degree significantly associated one or more subscales of burnout. According to this, diminished personal accomplishment (DPA) scores were significantly higher in orthodontists at faculty practice (12.1 ±3.1) compared to private practice orthodontists (10.5+2.8). Associate Professors and orthodontists 0-15 years into the practice demonstrated more diminished personal accomplishment (DPA) scores. Depersonalization (D) scores were also higher in these groups. In general, orthodontists demonstrated less burnout in and after their early forties possibly due to increased financial satisfaction. Organizational structures such as local orthodontic societies should construct study groups in order to evaluate and eliminate causative factors of burnout in younger orthodontists. Those who are about to start a dedicated profession should be supported by local organizations in terms of guidance. New educational courses should be incorporated into curriculum of orthodontic training centers to enable the individual orthodontist to recognize self personality and to grow self-esteem.