Mentoring. A quality assurance tool for dentists. Part 6: Outcomes: patient care, professional development and personal growth. Authentic happiness for dentists.

Abstract

This paper is the last in a series of six papers that have described different aspects of mentoring. It considers the impact of mentoring when it is used in general dental practice, applying the technique of learning through positive psychology. The first part of the paper considers this approach from a patient's perspective, the second from the perspective of a dentist. Because the impact on the quality of care for the patient is largely mediated through the personality of the dentist, the quality of the dentist's own performance, during his/her professional relationship with the patient, is a critical ingredient. The way that this critical ingredient impacts on quality of care is considered and parallels are drawn between roles assumed in dental practice and those found in industry. The paper also considers the way in which mentoring, as a part of a professional development programme, can enhance dentists' personal skills and performance. It is an opportunity for great personal growth, with increased levels of job and life satisfaction, leading to greater levels of authentic happiness for all those involved, not least for dentists and the dental team.