The practice of dentistry: An assessment of reasons for premature retirement

Aim To assess reasons for premature retirement among practising dentists and to evaluate their association with occupational stress. Design Retrospective analysis. Setting Records from one organisation operating in the private medical sickness industry in the UK. Materials Reasons for premature retirement of 393 dentists due to illness between 1981 and 1992. Results The most frequent causes of premature retirement were musculoskeletal disorders (29.5%), cardiovascular disease (21.1%), and neurotic symptoms (16.5%). 82.7% of cases examined were in the > 50 years age group. Conclusions Musculoskeletal disorders and stress related illnesses were the two most important groups which influenced premature retirement.