UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
The priority of mental health Dental public health expert Associate Professor Matthew Hopcraft shares insights from his research on mental health in dental professionals across Australia and his personal struggles on the topic.
By James Yau
Chef, soldier and dentist, Assoc Prof Matthew Hopcraft has worn many hats throughout his varied background. Growing up in a small town in rural Australia, Assoc Prof Hopcraft has since assumed many key appointments in the nation’s oral health institutions, championing many causes along the way. As the CEO of the Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch from 2017 to 2023, he supported the dental fraternity in advocating on behalf of the community to improve oral health. In 2015, he co-founded SugarFree Smiles to advocate for measures to improve oral health in Australia, raising awareness of the health impacts of high sugar diets and supporting the introduction of a tax on sugar- sweetened beverages Now at the University of Melbourne as Associate Professor in Professional Practice, Assoc Prof Hopcraft and his team has been researching on the mental health and wellbeing of Australian dental practitioners since 2023, having published four papers which investigated the factors associated with suicidal ideation, prevalence of psychological distress and burnout, and the validity of metrics used in the research. The insights from these studies unveiled “confronting” truths of mental health burden across dental professionals in Australia.
Associate Professor Matthew Hopcraft
PRIORITISING MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING Assoc Prof Hopcraft shared that his interest in mental health came about from both personal experience and what he was observing during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Dental practitioners were locked down, not able to practice and highly stressed, but we were not seeing a greater utilisation of counselling and support services. So, I really wanted to understand what was actually going on,” he said.
or anxiety, 1 in 4 were experiencing symptoms consistent with burnout and 1 in 7 reported recent thoughts of suicide. It confirmed that dentistry is a stressful profession, and the need for greater advocacy and support to help mitigate some of the drivers as well as breaking down the stigma associated with mental illness. “Our research indicated that dental practitioners had a high burden of mental illness – perhaps the same or greater than medical practitioners. And whilst there are some support services available, they are often poorly utilised,” said Assoc Prof Hopcraft.
One in 10 dental practitioners were currently experiencing depression
After reading a book on burnout by Prof Gordon Parker, one of the nation’s
23 DENTAL ASIA SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2024
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