The £150K Cost of Dentist Burnout and How to Fix It

Here’s a staggering statistic: 83.4% of dental practitioners and their teams are highly stressed.

Why?

A study published in Work shows that administrative overload, long hours and patient anxiety create an avalanche of stress in the industry leading to burnout and resignations.

Meet Dr. Anna Carter

A year ago, Anna, a 36-year-old London-based dentist, was drowning in paperwork every day before she would even see a patient. Her receptionist was overwhelmed too, juggling insurance claims, invoices and making scheduling mistakes. The stress piled up.

Anna started experiencing back pain, exhaustion and a relentless sense of dread. By the timeshe got home, she had nothing left to give to her family. She was burned out.

So she quit. Not dentistry, but that practice.

The problem wasn’t her love for the job; it was the outdated, manual-heavy system which created long hours, inefficiency and ultimately burnout.

The £150K Burnout Bill

Dentist burnout isn’t just emotionally draining, it’s financially devastating for clinics:

• Recruitment costs: Replacing a dentist costs £5,000-£10,000.
• Lost revenue: An unfilled position bleeds £60,000-£100,000 per month.
• Training & onboarding: Ramping up a new hire adds another £15,000-£20,000.
• Hidden costs: Patient trust erodes, staff morale drops and clinic reputation suffers.
• Total per burned-out dentist? £100,000-£150,000.

For smaller clinics, that’s a business-threatening blow.

But burnout isn’t inevitable. The problem isn’t the job, it’s the system.

The solution? Smylor

Smylor is our new dental practice management system and online marketplace. Now, Dr. Anna works in a Smylor-powered practice and she loves dentistry again. No more endless admin. No more wasted hours. Just time to focus on what matters: patient care.

Here’s how Smylor can make your practice more efficient and bring the focus back to patient care.

• 24/7 Online reception – Eliminates admin bottleneck and takes bookings while you’re at home relaxing with your family.
• AI-Driven automation – Handles admin, billing, and scheduling so dentists don’t have to. Smarter scheduling means real lunch breaks, buffer time and no overload.
• 24/7 Chat assistant – Learns your practice’s needs and manages patient queries efficiently.
• Support system – Access to mentorship, mental health resources, and professional development.

The future of dentistry: stress-free, AI-supported & scalable

❌ No more drowning in paperwork.

❌ No more burnout-driven resignations.

✅ A smooth-running practice with happy, motivated dentists.

Let Smylor take the stress off your plate so you and your team can focus on what truly matters: patient care.