Unlike ordinary self-doubt, which can be situational or constructive, imposter syndrome can be pervasive and paralyzing. It erodes self-confidence and often prevents capable professionals from embracing their successes or advancing in their careers. From Self-Doubt to Self-Awareness For Dr. Metcalfe, the realization that she was experiencing imposter syndrome came in dental school. Despite her qualifications, she remembers being anxious on orientation day, convinced that she was admitted by accident. “I remember thinking, they’re going to get to my name, realize they made a mistake, and send me back to Toronto,” she says. Her accomplishments didn’t stop these feelings. “No matter what I achieved, I felt like I didn’t belong. Each roadblock or challenge or mistake felt huge and that at any point in time I felt like someone was going to figure out that I was a phoney,” she recalls. Identifying this internal dialogue helped to enable change. “Once I had the proper language for this, I started to unravel how I was speaking to myself, and how that was shaping my confidence and experience,” she says. Dentists with imposter syndrome view each complication as a personal failure. Dr. Metcalfe advises practitioners to be mindful of their self-talk following difficult procedures. “Do you walk away thinking, ‘That crown will fail because I’m a terrible dentist?’ Or can you acknowledge that maybe the patient was anxious, isolation was tough, visibility was limited and that you did your best under challenging conditions?” she says. The reframing contextualizes clinical errors but doesn’t excuse them. It moves the narrative away from “I am a failure” to “That was a hard case, and I learned from it.” Creating this kind of awareness is crucial. “You can’t change what you don’t recognize,” she reminds. Dentistry’s Perfect Storm Dentistry, with its emphasis on esthetics and precision, breeds imposter syndrome. Dental students face intense competition from day one. “You go from being at the top of your undergraduate class to sitting among dozens of others who were also top of theirs,” she says. “The bar just keeps rising.” Within this context, she recalls terms like “golden hands” being tossed around; a phrase meant to praise clinical skill, but which can feed unfair comparisons and insecurity. “You begin to internalize the idea that if you’re not perfect right away, you’re falling behind,” she says. Perfectionism and competition in clinical care create high psychological stakes. Social media also increases the pressure. “We’re flooded with beforeand-after images and flawless preps at lectures or on social media,” she says. “But we don’t see the dozens of imperfect attempts, the learning curve or the struggles behind the scenes.” This distorted view causes dentists to compare themselves to their colleagues, creating feelings of inadequacy characteristic of imposter syndrome. Perfectionism and competition in clinical care create high psychological stakes. Social media also increases the pressure. Unlike ordinary self-doubt, which can be situational or constructive, imposter syndrome can be pervasive and paralyzing. 32 | 2025 | Issue 5 Supporting Your Practice
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTE5MTI=