Among dental practitioners, occupational stress is increasingly recognized as a serious global health issue, with significant implications for both physical and psychological well-being. Dentistry is inherently demanding due to high procedural precision, patient anxiety management, ergonomic strain, and financial pressures. This paper focuses on the impact of stress on dental practitioners in Mumbai, India, contextualized within a dense metropolitan healthcare environment characterized by high patient load and competitive private practice. A systematic narrative review of post-2020 literature from PubMed, Web of Science and scopus was conducted. Findings indicate that stress among dentists is multifactorial and strongly associated with musculoskeletal disorders, fatigue, cardiovascular risk, anxiety, depression, and burnout. Evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified stress levels, while systemic factors such as workload and financial instability remain key contributors. The study proposes a conceptual framework linking stressors, mediators, and health outcomes, and recommends multi-level interventions to improve occupational well-being. Addressing stress in dentistry is essential for enhancing practitioner health, clinical performance, and patient safety.
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