Access supports from ADA this Mental Health Awareness Month

This Mental Health Awareness Month, the American Dental Association encourages new dentists to prioritize their mental well-being early.

The ADA is here to help them do just that with various supports, including free access to the Well-Being Index, an anonymous, validated assessment and measurement tool developed by Mayo Clinic to address clinician distress and well-being. The index, used by hundreds of health care organizations, consists of nine questions evaluating providers’ risk of fatigue, depression, burnout and anxiety.

“As a new dentist, I know how important it is to protect my well-being for a long, successful career,” said Annie Koehne, D.M.D., who works at a federally qualified health center in Illinois. “I regularly check in using the ADA’s Well-Being Index. It takes just a few minutes and provides helpful, relevant resources after each assessment.”

Each year, the index compiles assessment results in the State of Well-Being Report, which offers a comprehensive look at key trends, risks and opportunities in health care. The report stratifies results across four categories: distressed, struggling, OK and thriving — showing the distribution of providers across the continuum based on their index scores.

Participants who are distressed or struggling are more at risk for burnout, severe fatigue, medical error, turnover, suicidal ideation and poorer overall quality of life, according to the index.

The ADA-licensed version of the index connects participants directly to resources from the ADA and many state dental associations. Users can continue to take the index at a selected frequency and reference their results on a personal dashboard. Early trends show that when users reassess over time, there is potential for them to move to a less-distressed category — for example, from distressed to struggling or from struggling to OK or thriving.

The ADA also offers wellness-focused continuing education. Putting Your Oxygen Mask on First: Prioritizing Health and Well-Being in Dentistry provides practical strategies and tools to support mental health, reduce burnout and promote resilience among dentists and their teams. Through the course, participants will recognize the importance of safeguarding their mental and physical health, examine the ADA’s advocacy efforts to support dental workforce well-being, and understand the significance of the ADA’s ongoing initiatives.

In addition to CE focused on dentists’ mental health, the ADA has launched a new course to help them feel confident in supporting their patients’ overall well-being. Trauma‑Informed Dentistry: Providing Care with Compassion and Awareness equips dental providers to recognize and respond to patients who have experienced trauma and may enter the dental setting with heightened anxiety, fear or physiological stress responses. The trauma could be from previous dental encounters, medical procedures or life events.

The course introduces dental professionals to the principles of trauma-informed care and demonstrates how small shifts in language, operatory setup and procedural workflow can lead to better patient experiences. Through discussion, examples and practical strategies, participants will learn how to identify trauma triggers, reduce retraumatization and build trusting, compassionate relationships with patients — ultimately improving patient satisfaction, treatment acceptance and clinical outcomes.

To access and learn more about the ADA’s wellness resources, visit ADA.org/wellness.