CONTINUING EDUCATION Forget New Year’s Resolutions: Embrace the Power of Daily Renewal DR. KAREN TINDALL and DR. LAURA SCHWINDT Every day is a new chapter in the story of our lives. As we navigate this journey, we can choose to lead with purpose, overcome obstacles with resilience, and savor the beauty of the experience. Leadership plays a crucial role in fostering a positive and productive dental office environment. By prioritizing employee well-being and creating a supportive culture, leaders can empower their teams to reach their full potential. Research from the Well-Being Research Centre at the University of Oxford has shown a strong correlation between employee happiness and productivity. A one-point increase in happiness can lead to a 12% increase in productivity. By investing in the well-being of their teams, leaders can reap significant benefits for their practice. In the demanding field of dentistry, the pursuit of well-being is a rising priority. Stress and burnout rates in the dental profession continue to rise, so prioritizing mental and emotional well-being is becoming an essential component of protecting career longevity, ensuring job satisfaction, and delivering highquality patient care. The science of well-being is grounded in psychology, neuroscience, and health sciences and offers a holistic approach to the understanding of human well-being beyond the absence of disease. Using the interconnectedness of physical, emotional, social, and professional dimensions, well-being initiatives make it possible to provide a framework for managing stress, enhancing resilience, and fostering a positive workplace culture. Research consistently demonstrates the detrimental effects of chronic stress on dental professionals, leading to burnout, anxiety, and depression. Conversely, interventions that encourage positive emotions, mindfulness, and social support have been shown to mitigate these negative outcomes. The provision of support for dental practice teams can include a personalized combination of individual and team coaching, workshops to raise awareness, and in-depth team retreats. For each practice, this looks different, but the results are the same: Elevated Energy Levels: Creating a surge in vitality and mental clarity allows challenges to be tackled with renewed focus and enthusiasm. Enhanced Meaning: Dental teams discover a profound sense of purpose in their work and life, fueling individual strengths and driving the team towards greater fulfillment and legacy. Accelerated Success: Achieving goals with greater efficiency and effectiveness, thereby unlocking the team’s full potential and reaching new heights of accomplishment without burnout. Unbreakable Team Cohesion: Fostering deeper connections and collaboration within the team leads to increased synergy, productivity, shared success, and a team who functions at an optimal level. What is Daily Renewal and How Can It Benefit My Dental Practice? Daily renewal is the practice of intentionally refreshing one’s mind, body, and spirit on a daily basis. As dental professionals, we often find ourselves immersed in demanding schedules and high-stress situations. By incorporating daily renewal practices into our lives and those of our teams, we can enhance our overall well-being, improve our job performance, and strengthen our relationships. Well-being may be regarded by some as a ‘soft’ topic, but well-being is a genuine science because well-being can be measured and improved. As humans, our experience consists of good and bad days. There is nothing ‘soft’ about a bad day for the individual who is experiencing it. Science allows us to address total well-being from an evidence-based perspective and measure the results. In a profession that is truly science-based and professionals who are scientifically trained, well-being should be viewed as a critical component of practice success. When addressing the well-being challenges faced by dental teams, it is essential to utilize science-based strategies that promote positive emotions, mindfulness, and social support. Positive psychology interventions, such as gratitude practices, strengths-based work, and positive feedback, help to cultivate a more resilient and optimistic mindset. Having selfcompassion and developing a growth mindset is also crucial for fostering well-being.2 Practical Tips for Daily Renewal To cultivate a fulfilling and meaningful life, it is essential to incorporate daily practices 16 | Jan 2025
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