EVALUATION OF THE LEVELS OF PROFESSIONAL SATISFACTION AMONG BULGARIAN GENERAL DENTAL PRACTITIONERS: A PILOT STUDY

Background: In dental practice, the degree of professional satisfaction depends on a number of factors such as the duration of experience,personal characteristics of workers, factors of the working environment,income, socio-cultural factors such as the organization of the healthcare system and the attitudes of patients to dentists etc. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the levels of job satisfaction of Bulgarian general dental practitioners. Materials and Methods: Subjects of observation in the study were 80 Bulgarian general dental practitioners. . The technical observation units in this study were individual and group practices for dental care located on the territory of Bulgaria. Results: 90.8% of all respondents were satisfied with their practice of dental medicine. The highest percentage of lack of professional satisfaction was registered in the group of general dentists with over 30 years of experience - 6.6% versus 1.3% for the group with up to 10 years and the group up to 30 years. Conclusion: Bulgarian general practitioners are with high average professional satisfaction and self-esteem from the practice of dental medicine - 90.8%.