460 - Perceptions of Psychological Safety Among AAPD Member Pediatric Dentists

Purpose: This study aimed to understand how psychological safety (PS) presents among practicing AAPD member pediatric dentists, determine how demographic variables are associated with PS and POS, and the correlation between PS and POS.

Methods: Pediatric dentists practicing in the U.S. or any U.S. territory, who are AAPD members, were invited to participate in an anonymous survey. The Psychological Safety Scale (PSS) and the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS) instruments were used to estimate perceptions on personal and practice characteristics using multivariable regression models. Significance level was set at 0.05.

Results: A total of 397 responses were included in the analysis (6% response rate). Psychological safety was found to be significantly associated with a provider's race/ethnicity (P=.0006), existing student debt (P=.0062), role in the practice (P=.0414), and whether they left a job since residency (P=.0060). Those with no remaining student debt and those who had not left a job since completing residency had significantly higher PS. Owners reported significantly higher PS than other roles. Perceived organizational support (POS) was significantly associated with race/ethnicity (P=.0020), role in the practice (P <.0001), and whether it has been 5+ years since residency completion (P=.0416). POS was significantly higher for non-Hispanic white respondents, owners, and those who completed residency more than 5 years ago.

Conclusion: Based on this study’s results, factors like role in the practice, race/ethnicity, and student loan debt greatly affect PS and POS. Additionally, there is a positive correlation between PS and POS, thus PS is not incidental; it emerges only when organizations actively and consistently demonstrate meaningful support for their clinicians.