Well-known for being a physically and emotionally demanding profession, dentistry can take its toll on a practitioner’s health and wellbeing. How, then, do you stay at the top of your professional game, while looking after yourself in the process?
Dr Anika Rouf, an Accredited Practising Dietitian and spokesperson for Dietitians Australia, says eating healthy at work can be tricky and takes some effort.
“But,” she adds, “it can put us in a better state mentally – boosting memory, concentration, and dodging that mid-afternoon dip in energy. So, make eating well a priority, and your mind and body will thank you for it.
“My top tips would be to get your colleagues involved to make it fun (just as you’d want to involve your family members at home),” she says. “Encourage your workplace to get on board with healthy snacks. Rather than having biscuits provided in the tearoom or during meetings, try having a fresh fruit and veggie platter, which is a more nutritious choice and likely to leave you feeling healthier and with better concentration levels.
“You can keep sliced veggies (carrot, capsicum, cucumber, and celery) in the fridge and use dips like tzatziki or hummus. This way you can keep yourself fuelled throughout your busy workday and limit the trips you take to the local café or food court.
“Another way to eat healthy would be to bring your own lunch as this puts you in control of the ingredients and portion size,” she adds. “Store-bought sandwiches, salads and pastas are often made with kilojoule-laden sauces, dressings and spreads, which can be higher in salt and fat than we realise. Cooking at home also helps you reduce salt, saturated fat and sugar. We are also able to control how much we serve on our plate.”
Dr Anika Rouf says it’s important for healthcare workers to look after their health so they feel their best and continue to provide support to others. “Healthy eating should be seen as a form self-care – we should be looking to put our own oxygen mask on first before we help others,” she says. “Healthcare workers have faced and continue to face high levels of stress and workload during COVID-19 and studies suggest significant levels of self-reported anxiety, depression and even symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.”
(Source: Vizheh et al 2020) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7586202/
Put some time into preparing meals and snacks on a Sunday or on the night before work, this means you will have food on hand that’s ready to eat during the week.
For those who are time poor and don’t have a lot of time to go shopping, frozen fruits and vegetables can be a great way to always have some produce on hand.
Frozen fruit and veg are snap frozen, and their vitamins and minerals are preserved, so the quality is the same as when they were harvested.
Leftovers are your best friend – prepare a little extra of your evening meal, and portion out into takeaway containers for lunch the following day.
Cook bulk servings of staples like rice, wholegrain pasta, and roast vegies like sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot, eggplant and zucchini. These can be thrown together with a few other ingredients (salad leaves, nuts, feta cheese, olive oil) and make an easy lunch.
Keep ingredients in the fridge at work for easy sandwiches – e.g. wholegrain bread or wraps, salad ingredients, reduced fat cheese or lean meats. If you don’t have much fridge space, thing about non-perishable foods you can keep on hand such as tinned fish (e.g. salmon/tuna), tinned legumes/four-bean mix, nuts, microwavable rice, etc).
If you have to travel for your work and find yourself on the go, you could make a simple sandwich using wholegrain bread or wraps, salad ingredients, canned fish, reduced fat cheese or lean meats. You can take fresh fruit or nuts as snacks. Finally, make sure to keep yourself hydrated between seeing patients as this will help keep your body functioning at its best and boost your concentration.
Foam rolling can help alleviate the aches and pains that come from sitting and engaging in repetitive movements.
Ann Nielsen, personal trainer and accredited functional foam rolling instructor, has held foam rolling workshops specifically for dental practices.
In terms of occupational hazards for dentists, she often sees postural issues and overuse injury.
“Overuse, postural issues and stress are the main things that will create pain, discomfort, tension and muscle tightness – and this is where foam rolling comes in,” she says. “You can liken foam rolling to a self-managed massage. Overall, it releases trigger points, tension and glued-up spots in the fascia. It also improves circulation. Personally, I used to see a massage therapist sometimes two or three times a week before I found foam rolling.
“A good saying I have is: free your body with foam rolling. It’s about freeing up tensions and all the postural misalignments and stress, overuse and repetitive movements. The great thing for dentists is that you can use a foam roller any time and any place. The feedback I have had from dentists is they just love it. The biggest thing they say is, ‘I didn’t know I was so sore.’ It helps with sleep too.”
You can contact Ann about attending a workshop at annsblackrollfitness@gmail.com or
facebook.com/AnnsBlackrollFitness
An important part of wellbeing is connection – and there are a number of supports particularly for dentists:
With a career in dentistry and five-year-old twins at home, Nicole is no stranger to stress. Hence, she prioritises exercise before work.
“It’s a calm before the storm kind of thing, particularly prior to big work days,” she says.
Nicole is a runner and triathlete who spent several years in Kalgoorlie immersed in a running and triathlon club. When she moved back to Perth three years ago, she was a bit lost, finding solo runs difficult to stay motivated. Via a group called ‘Running Mums Australia’, Nicole was able to connect online to others close to where she lives, and who she’ll run with in rain, hail or shine at 5am (or earlier if someone needs to because of work, kids or life). “We have a run and sort out our lives before the rest of the world gets up,” she says. “It’s the best way to start the day,”
In 2021, Nicole returned to Kalgoorlie and was the female winner of the Pipeline marathon. “It was a complete surprise when I crossed the finish line, as we go to visit friends for the weekend and just enjoy the race,” she says. “We often joke the best part of racing is the pasta night prior and the celebratory feast after!
“I’m very lucky my husband is my biggest supporter; he brings our girls to my races and is quite used to the early morning alarms. We try to teach them that being active is just part of our everyday lives rather than something that’s a chore.”
When it comes to other ways to take care of herself, Nicole says she thinks healthier eating goes along with training, as food becomes more about energy requirements and what makes you feel good to keep moving. “It comes as a lifestyle change as part of what you do. My running friends and I are always swapping new recipes to keep things interesting, but cake and biscuits are my weakness!”
Dr Parul Bhatia says dentistry is a stressful profession – being both physically and mentally demanding. “I’m a business owner and I believe that if I take care of myself then I can give my patients and my team the best possible care and support,” she says. “It becomes a vicious cycle of burn-out and stress if we don’t have these care regimes in place.”
Parul goes to the gym to keep physically strong and to avoid aches and pains. “I couple that with remedial massages to help me recover from work and training,” she says.
She loves reading self-care and books about growth and leadership skills. “Meditation is so good as well,” she adds. “This helps me deal with the mental stresses of our profession and the demands of being a business owner.”
Parul also tries to take a holiday every four to six months (she says this does not have to be a big break – mini breaks are perfect) and tries to get a good night’s sleep. She also prioritises meal planning every Friday. “This means we eat healthy, and everyone is fed well in the family,” she says. “Sleep and healthy eating are great foundations for long-term health and wellbeing.”
Dr Armando Menezes focuses on eating well and exercising regularly. “We get Hello Fresh delivered weekly so that Monday to Friday there is no need to think what I am going to cook for my wife, two adult children and one teenager at home every weeknight,” he says.
He also preps lunch, morning and afternoon tea and leftover dinner for lunch, so there is no need to buy takeaway. “It’s important to exercise regularly,” he adds. “Find something you enjoy. I go to the gym Monday to Thursday every week and go for one to two walks on the weekends. Even if tired, you always feel better after whatever exercise you like doing.”
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