Although dentists' suicide rates have been declining, there is still a lack of consensus on the factors that influence it. Stressors such as occupational pressures, substance abuse, and untreated mental health issues have all been linked to dentists' suicide. However, it is important to note that dentists are not necessarily at a higher risk of suicide than other professionals. Each race has its own unique set of contributing factors and stressful environments that can lead to depression. What really matters and makes a difference is how you approach these situations and how you respond to adversity.
It is important to remember your boundaries, respect yourself, and disconnect from work in order to achieve a less stressful career. A 2004 survey of 3,500 dentists showed that 38 percent reported that they were frequently or always worried or anxious, and 34 percent said they were often or always physically or emotionally exhausted. While statistics on dentists and suicides can be debated, there is no doubt that stress in the dental profession is a valid concern. Additional emotional stress can come from isolation, which the CDC lists as one of the main risk factors for suicide. Dentists are in close contact with others throughout the day, but they are also often perceived as people who cause pain or have the potential to cause pain, which can make it difficult for them to develop close personal relationships with their patients. I don't know when was the last time there was something positive in the media about dentists, says Dr.
Or the guy who killed that lion in Africa, there was a strong association that he was specifically a dentist. There are many negative aspects surrounding dentistry. The mystery surrounding the validity of dentists' perceptions as disproportionately suicidal remains unsolved, but the volume of anecdotal evidence along with solid statistics on the real stress dentists face is mind-boggling. The reason dentistry was so high is because they were 100% men for a long time. Now that dentistry is more diverse, the rate has dropped.
Doctors and Pharmacists Have Higher Suicide Rates Than Dentists These Days. The prevailing perception is that dentists are successful and rich, so sympathy is understandably harder to find. Steven Stack, professor of criminal justice at Wayne State University, is one of the few researchers studying the specific correlation between dentistry and suicide. Dentists regularly face difficult decisions to help patients who need much more treatment than they can actually afford. To be honest, running a dental clinic is really difficult beyond what people think, since running the clinic would require highly knowledgeable dentists, as well as a team and staff to support the administration and patients. The discrepancy could be related to a reduction in suicide rates by dentists or it could be a matter of the research and analysis methods used.
Researchers are finding that many personality traits that characterize a good dentist are also traits that predispose to depression in midlife, drug and alcohol abuse, and concomitant suicide risk. The problem of isolation is compounded by the fact that dentists tend to be competitive with each other. Recent studies published in the dental literature confirm that dentists are subject to a variety of physical and emotional problems related to stress. Thus began my descent into the mystery of whether the long-held perception that dentists were significantly more prone to suicide than the rest of the population was true or as false as an ill-fitting porcelain veneer. Even the dentists I spoke to, who were happy in their profession, agreed that they were practicing under significant stress. Money problems, physical and emotional stress, isolation and the unfavorable public perception of dentists in general were cited as negative aspects of their work.
Another result of the economic pressure of practice is that dentists often feel like they literally can't afford to get sick or take vacations.
