How to Stay Well and Healthy as a Dentist

Dentistry is a hugely rewarding profession with so many opportunities to grow a successful career and practice.

Here at the AAOPM we have many dentists who train with us to build their skills and to learn how to deliver additional value-added services to clients at their practices.

Private dentistry is lucrative, intellectually challenging, and always in demand. It’s also hugely rewarding in that it improves patient lives. But we’re also often asked about health tips for dentists because of the unique challenges that dental professionals face. Let’s look closer at these issues:

The Health Challenges of Dental Work

But for dentists and dental nurses, the job does come with its health challenges. We’ve listened to and learned many dental tips from our dental faculty and professional students over the years, and they tell us that these are common “wellbeing at work” issues that they face on a daily basis in their practices.

Back pain from bending over for long periods
Aching legs and flattened foot arches from standing all day
Emotional challenges such as low mood or even depression
Risks from transmittable diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, HIV, and Covid-19
Tinnitus and hearing loss from using loud instruments
Musculoskeletal disorders including pain in the wrists, elbow, and joints
Radiation exposure and risks from needles and other sharp instruments.

With this in mind, here are some of the best health tips for dentists. Some of these dental resolutions for your health are quick and easy to implement as you seek to invest in your own health at work.

Health Tips for Dentists

Whether you’re a new or seasoned dentistry professional, now is the perfect time to invest in your health and wellbeing at work. Many health at work issues can be tackled quickly before they escalate and cause a problem in your profession.

Considering this further, here are some great dental tips to consider as part of your 2025 dental resolutions at work!

1. For Better Health at Work - Look After Your Back

Of all the health tips for dentists, back care has to be a priority, as dental professionals stand and bend for long hours, often whilst holding equipment and carrying tension from detailed procedures.

Put back health at the top of your dental resolutions this year because one of the best health tips for dentists is to take care of your spinal health. Some of the ways you can do this are by:

Stretching regularly to release tension in your back, neck, and shoulders
Learning ergonomic techniques to limit stress in the same areas (one of the best tips for new dentists who want to protect their health at work for the long term.)
Another great tip for dentists is to develop a yoga practice out of work. Yin yoga, especially, can be great for better health at work. It involves working the fascia, rather than the muscles, in long, static poses. For optimal workplace wellbeing, combine muscular stretching and yin yoga.
As part of your 2025 dental resolutions, treat yourself occasionally to a sports massage and a check-in with a chiropractor periodically for an assessment.

2. Dental Resolutions 2025: Be Mindful of Repetitive Movements

Similarly, add “avoid too many repetitive movements” to your list of dental resolutions for 2025.

Do this by:

Working with a wellbeing at work assessor who can assess your practice, role, and everyday tasks for ergonomic improvements.
Changing your posture, switching hands for routine tasks, and changing your working position regularly.
Taking breaks to flex your fingers, rotate your arms, and generally shake everything out and move about. Roll those shoulders too! These movements will help you feel positive and boost your wellbeing at work as well as minimize the risk of Repetitive Strain Injury.

3. Simple Health Tips For Dentists: Improve Your Posture

For better overall health and wellbeing at work… stand up straight! This dental tip will help you feel strong, tall, and pain-free. Do it by:

Standing tall (but not ramrod straight - a good dental tip for practitioners is to go to a Pilates class to learn proper posture that maintains the natural curve of the spine.)
Engaging your core by activating your abs to reduce lower back strain and support your spine
Keeping your knees slightly bent for better weight distribution.

4. Dental Tips for Footwear: Make it Supportive

For easier wellbeing at work, just wear comfortable shoes! This means swapping those sharp shoes and fancy heels for orthotic inserts, or supportive shoes with cushioning and arch support.

Yes, they aren’t the most stylish, but they are one of the best health tips for dentists with back pain!

5. Optimize Health at Work by Adjusting Your Space

Wellbeing at work can be greatly enhanced by a well-laid-out, ergonomic working space, so at No.5 in our list of health tips for dentists, we have workplace optimization!

Here are some great dental tips for a more comfortable practice:

Try standing on a cushioned anti-fatigue mat to reduce pressure on your joints and spine
Ensure your workstation is properly adjusted for immediate better health at work! This means having monitors and equipment at the right height to avoid overreaching or hunching; two things that dramatically reduce wellbeing at work and lead to injury.

6. Get Better Health at Work by Moving!

One of the easiest ways to get an injury at work is by clenching or tensing in a certain position for a long time (say, when working on a complex dental procedure) and then sharply twisting to grab a tool. Ouch!

So of all the best health tips for dentists, regular and natural movement is right up there!

Improve your mood, energy levels, muscular health, and all-round wellbeing at work by incorporating plenty of natural movement, including walking.
Shift your weight between your feet, take regular walking breaks every hour to boost circulation and get your body limber, and stretch throughout the day, with simple side bends, back extensions, or hamstring stretches.
A yogic squat is also an amazing back release for instantly improved health at work!

7. For Better Health at Work… Learn Safe Lifting

It’s not just your patients that need dental resolutions for 2025; dentists too need to be taking care of their health! So make this the year that you learn and practice safe lifting.

This means bending your knees and lifting any loads with your legs rather than your back and keeping loads close to your body.

As another health tip for dentists, if you have to carry things, limit the amount of time that you do. Why? Because when you stand for long periods of time, your back is at greater risk of an injury.

8. For Wellbeing at Work… Consider Posture Correctors

Other dental resolutions for dental practitioners involve making a little investment in themselves. Try investing in a posture corrector such as a brace or lumbar support belt if your back starts to ache at work.

It’s a good dental tip not to overly rely on these correctors, but they’re great when you need them. Posture correctors are also a great example of how health tips for dentists can be quick and easy for better wellbeing at work!

9. Dental Resolutions For Better Nutrition and Hydration

Dental resolutions for dentists must include the right food and water. This is vital because health tips for dentists often focus solely on back health and ignore the role that food and drink play in health at work.

Dental tip for enhanced wellbeing at work: drink more water

Yes there’s an irony in including this in the dentist’s own list of dental resolutions, but water isn’t just good for oral health; it also helps to lubricate spinal discs and joints, to keep everything moving as it should. For a bonus dental tip, try taking a hyaluronic acid supplement.

This is one of the best supplement-based health tips for dentists as hyaluronic acid, made naturally in the body, binds water in the body at a molecular level, improving hydration across every cell.

Dental tip for better health at work: eat nutritious food

Water keeps you hydrated, and the right diet is also anti-inflammatory. Again, these dental resolutions apply to practitioners as well as patients! For better health at work and in life, eat a healthy diet packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and minimize processed food.

These health tips for dentists are the same ones that you give your patients! So follow your own good advice for optimum wellbeing at work!

10. For Better Health at Work: Support Your Mental Wellbeing

Another of the best dental tips for better health at work is to prioritize your mental health. There are plenty of different ways to do this.

For example, you can take regular breaks, invest in your out-of-work hobbies, improve your working environment as a whole for better wellbeing at work, and look after your mental health with meditation, outdoor time in nature, and meaningful activities with loved ones.

These kinds of dental resolutions go beyond physical health tips for dentists because they are holistic. By thinking broadly about how to improve your wellbeing at work, you can also create a happier team overall.

Dental Resolutions We Can All Keep - Use the AAOPM!

We hope you’ve found these health tips for dentists useful! Of course, one of the best dental resolutions we know for your wellbeing and career this year is to become an AAOPM member and enjoy the huge range of benefits, including training, workshops, advice and support, and access to our professional network of like-minded dental professionals.

Request a catalog or sign up today for instant access to everything you need to accelerate your career and grow a successful practice!