This study assessed the mental well-being and job satisfaction of a random sample of 484 dentists in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It was found that male dentists showed lower levels of well-being than the normative population. Using multiple regression and LISREL, it was found that ‘time and scheduling demands’ and ‘negative patient perceptions’ were consistent predictors of mental ill-health across both male and female dentists. While there was also a significant relationship between these factors and job satisfaction, the amount of variance explained was small. In addition, for male dentists, Type A coronary-prone behaviour was also a strong predictor. These results are discussed in detail.