RESUMEN
AIM: To analyse the degree of professional burnout in primary care dentists of the Galician Health Service (GHS). DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. SETTING: Dental care units of the GHS primary care network. SUBJECTS: All primary care dentists of the new primary care model of the GHS (N=79). Response rate: 50% (N=35). MEASUREMENTS: Anonymous self-applied questionnaire: the Maslach Burnout Inventory, that evaluates emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal achievements; a social and personal questionnaire. Student's t test, ANOVA, 2 or Fisher's exact test were used. MAIN RESULTS: Mean age: 46.58+/-9.47; sex: 74.3% males; temporary job: 82.9%; years in the GHS: 15.25+/-8.34. High values were detected in: emotional exhaustion 54.3%; depersonalization 55.6%; personal achievements 6.9%. No statistically significant differences were identified in terms of age, sex, marital status, type of contract, rural vs urban areas, number of patients treated, or years in the GHS, apart from the "personal achievements" subscale, that was rated, significantly higher (P=.046) by those who had shorter experience at for the GHS. CONCLUSION: GHS dentists show a degree of professional burnout close to the one described for family doctors at the Spanish National Health System.