DentaltownUK April 2017 - 96

Students

KISHAN SHETH
Dear fellow colleagues, friends, ladies and
gentlemen, it was fantastic to witness a
very positive response to our first edition of
DentaltownUK, which featured some
incredible content from many of the top
figures in UK dentistry.
It also showcased the great work done
by Zain Hameed and Awais Ali, fourth
year dental students at King's College
London.
DentaltownUK includes a student
section because we truly believe that it
is important for the future generation of
the profession to share ideas and opinions
with their more experienced colleagues.
It also provides an excellent opportunity
to understand the importance of a work/
life balance whilst embarking on a
dental educational programme, and
discuss food, hobbies, style, travel and
student experiences that can happen
outside the clinical and learning
environment.
This month, the student section
features the incredible work of Lawrence
Sharkey, a dental student who shares
my passion for the performing arts, and
who has developed himself in musical
theatre in particular.
It also showcases the 'elective down
under' that Ajay Mehta has been on
and how he discovered the concept of
Myobrace, an alternative orthodontic
treatment modality that aims to use
myofunctional orthodontic techniques
to correct malocclusions.
In addition, Sahil Sharma, a student
who is involved heavily in dance, shares
his article on how we can reduce our
levels of stress. In addition, Aditi
Goel, also shares her understanding
of the concept of stress, and makes her
personal recommendations for how

96

APRIL 2017 // dentaltownuk.com

dental students can reduce the level of
stress they experience.
Stress management is a component of
dentistry that we can't master from our
books or our lectures. We'll have to learn
and adapt with time and experience, but
this article points out important aspects
to keep in mind.
Modern dentistry demands that high
levels of quality work be done in a short
amount of time. Your patients, colleagues
and clinical treatment must also be
managed effectively.
All of these factors can add to your
stress load. Many dentists and students
that I speak to report: feeling inadequate
for the task, boredom, a need to develop
extreme attention to detail and the
continuous striving for absolutely perfect
restorations, and challenges regarding
treating patients who are anxious.
Challenges regarding developing
professional relationships between team
members and fighting off eyestrain, back
and neck problems also create important
considerations for dental students.
However, stress is not always a bad
thing. Small amounts of stress are great
efficiency boosters, which increase
performance. However, surplus amounts
can have dangerous effects on health.
I am sure that you will enjoy this
edition of DentaltownUK; it's packed
with some great content from very special
individuals in the profession. Please do
engage with our message boards and let
us know about your thoughts. ■

WHAT IS STRESS AND WHAT
ARE ITS CAUSES?
Stress. A word that has become extremely
over used in the last couple of decades. Why is
this person angry? Must be stressed. Why are
they upset? Must be stress. What's wrong? "Not
much, just stressed".
The word is so overused now that defining
stress is becoming harder and harder everyday.
Being a dental student, I come across this word
several times a week in many contexts used by
other students, colleagues, tutors and even patients
and yet if someone asked me why I was stressed,
I probably wouldn't be able to give a sole reason
that could justify the use of such a serious term.
Hans Selye initially penned stress as 'a non
specific response of the body to any demand for
change' in 1936 and since then the definition
has changed in many respects.
A more commonly accepted definition now
is 'a physical, mental or emotional factor that
causes bodily or mental tension'. Stress can present
itself in many different ways and it is the way in
which an individual deals with this that impacts
how much it effects that individual normal life.
The aetiology of stress is multifactorial, it is
not necessary that one sole reason should stress
a person out and therefore with dental students
at university who have to deal with the stress
of patient appointments, quota's, professional
expectations as well as managing lectures and
exams, it isn't surprising the number of students
who are stressed is on an increase every year.
For students before clinical training starts,
it was found that exams and fear of failing was
what caused the most stress whilst for those
who had started clinical training, the biggest
http://www.dentaltownuk.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DentaltownUK April 2017
