Loneliness and isolation in dentistry

In this latest episode of Bodcast, Hussein Hassanali, Associate Dentist at Woodthorpe Dental Centre catches up with Dr Mahrukh Khwaja, CEO of Mind Ninja, to share their thoughts and personal experiences of loneliness in dentistry and practical tips to overcome it.

What you'll hear:

• What is loneliness
• What brings happiness
• Personal experiences of loneliness
• Importance of making high quality connections
• Getting involved with local communities
• Benefits of mentoring
• Team building exercises
• Dealing with complaints/rejection

Who should listen:

• All dental professionals

About:

Hussein graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2009 and completed his PG Dip in Restorative Dentistry in 2020 which granted Fellowship of BAARID. He is an Associate Dentist in York with a special interest in ultrasonic restorative dentistry. He has a broad range of experience, having worked in both NHS and private, and both corporate and independent practices. To date, he has over 20 publications to his name, and continues to support the profession through his regular contributions, as well as being on the BDJ Reader Panel and an Editorial Advisory Board Member of Young Dentist Magazine.

Mahrukh Khwaja is a dentist, qualified Positive Psychologist and founder of Mind Ninja: a well-being start-up providing resilience and mental health training to dental professionals so they can thrive in any environment. Mahrukh specialises in applying positive psychology through training, coaching and well-being products for the profession, such as the ‘Mind Flossing’ toolkit: a deck of well-well-being cards to help dental professionals practise mindfulness, self-compassion, gratitude, growth mindset and use their strengths, with patients and at home. Mahrukh has worked with a diverse range of organisations, in both public and private sectors, such as NHS Oxford Health, King’s College London, Acteon, BDA, Tipton Training, Dentinal Tubules and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, delivering positive psychology workshops and well-being programmes. She wrote the Level 7 well-being online programme for Acteon in 2020 and in 2021, led 2 cohorts of a 4 week positive psychology programme, providing a balance of empirical research and practical tools for personal and professional development. Mind Ninja was a shortlisted finalist at the Private Dentistry Awards 2020 and 2021. Mahrukh was named Top 50 in Dentistry 2021 by FMC for her work on mental health in Dentistry. She is the author of ‘Resilience And Well-being For Dental Professionals’ due to be published by Wiley-Blackwell in Summer 2022. Mahrukh is a dentist with over 12 years of clinical experience, an accredited mindfulness teacher, and holds a Master’s in Applied Positive Psychology. To find out more info visit https://www.mind-ninja.co.uk/