The Mental Dental Connection: Better Clinician & Leader | Joshua
Anxiety, pain, depression, burnout. Dentistry can be difficult and take a toll — and the research backs it up: dental professionals experience a high incidence of mental illness. Yet we rarely explore or discuss it. We examine the physical aspects of wellness while the mental ones stay off the table.
It’s time to remove the taboo and face the facts. Presented in Dr. Joshua Austin’s trademark comedic style, this session reframes mental health not as a private struggle to hide, but as a professional skill set to build — one that makes you a better clinician, a better leader, and a better version of yourself.
Recognize the signs — for your patients and yourself
Many dental professionals don’t clearly understand the mental health conditions their patients present with: which red flags to watch for, or what to do and how to intervene. This course closes that gap on both sides of the chair.
Attendees will explore practical strategies for working together to improve mental health so everyone on the team can be their best:
- Recognize triggers and warning signs — in patients and in yourself — before they escalate.
- Identify essential tools and resources, and understand common treatments and therapy options.
- Know how and when to refer to a mental health professional with confidence.
- Gain coping mechanisms and learn to manage expectations — both your own and your patients’.
The result is a team that’s more resilient, more aware, and more equipped to deliver exceptional care. It starts with removing the stigma — and it always should.
Objectives:
- Define mental health terms and analyze mental health statistics relevant to dentistry.
- Discover mechanisms for coping with our personal and professional challenges.
- Illuminate common DSM-5 diagnoses and their characteristics.
- Choose the right professionals for your own personal wellness team.
- Identify and examine your psychological triggers and why they matter.
- Explore the benefits of psychotherapy — and consider today to be Dental Mental Health Day.
About the Speaker
Dr. Joshua Austin’s presentations deliver practical, applicable education that inspires and entertains — while offering the sound fundamentals that make a real difference in practice success. From Dentsply Sirona World to Seattle Study Club Symposiums, his keynote performances are met with rave reviews from audiences and conference organizers alike, blending his trademark comedic style with topics like mental wellness, materials review, and online reputation management.
As editorial director and columnist for Dental Economics — where he authors Pearls for Your Practice — Joshua offers an honest, refreshingly commercial-free evaluation of the products he uses in his own clinical practice. A graduate of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Dental School, he served five years as faculty in the Department of Restorative Dentistry and today maintains a full-time restorative practice in San Antonio, Texas.
His work has been widely honored: Texas Dental Association Young Dentist of the Year (2009), Texas AGD New Dentist of the Year (2010), a Mastership in the Academy of General Dentistry, and a Fellowship in the American College of Dentists (2014) for his outstanding commitment to ethics in patient care.