Suicide rate????!!!

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nsp716

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Why have I heard more than a few times that dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession? Every time I tell someone I am applying to dental school, they give me that bit of trivia...where is this coming from? Just wondering...


AA/TS/PAT:25/26/19

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I love these posts...:rolleyes:
 
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Dentists actually do have a high rate of drug an alcohol use...which in turn COULD BE translated to overdose, poisoning, suicide or death!!

here's an article from the CDA:

http://www.cda.org/cda_member/pubs/journal/jour1098/drugs.html



AN EVEN STRONGER CASE CAN BE FOUND HERE:
an article from webmd's emedicine that provides you with the professions with high suicide rates...

http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3004.htm

Professions and occupations

* Police or public safety officers are at risk for suicide. The hours of work, the scenes they witness daily, the availability of guns, and the silence encouraged by the profession (keeping within the “wall-of-blue”), as well as alcohol usage and divorces contribute to this risk.

* Physicians, especially those who deal with progressively terminally ill patients, have a high rate of suicide. In the United States, the medical field loses the equivalent of a medical school class each year by suicide.

* Dentists have a high suicide rate. Perhaps, elements of obsessive and perfectionist tendencies combined with personal feelings of isolation may contribute to this high number of self-induced deaths.

HAHA...ITS OK, don't worry guys, I'M GOING TO DENTAL SCHOOL TOO!!!
 
It is a well known fact that dentists have the highest suicide rates, followed closely by air-traffic-controllers. My dad's brother has a dog who's veterinarian's pharmacist said so. And he should know.

You can see it for yourself at www.gullible.com
 
In the United States, the medical field loses the equivalent of a medical school class each year by suicide.

:eek:
 
So what about the suicide rate of PRE-dents? I'd believe that rumor... I mean c'mon who hasn't thought about a bullet to the head sounding better than getting another rejection letter as the years pass by? :eek:
 
nsp716 said:
Why have I heard more than a few times that dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession? Every time I tell someone I am applying to dental school, they give me that bit of trivia...where is this coming from? Just wondering...


AA/TS/PAT:25/26/19


yea, i guess making all that money can be depressing......jealousy always causes rumors....so amused lol :rolleyes:
 
HC_smiles said:
yea, i guess making all that money can be depressing......jealousy always causes rumors....so amused lol :rolleyes:


FOR ALL THOSE WHO THINK IT IS A RUMOR, READ THE ARTICLES I POSTED UP... AND THEN SPEAK...ITS NOT A RUMOR FIRST OF ALL, AND I AM GOING TO DENTAL SCHOOL ALSO SO NO, I AM NOT JEALOUS...PLEASE DO NOT TALK ABOUT SOMETHING WITHOUT GETTING THE FACTS TOGETHER FIRST...HOW THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS GONNA BE DENTISTS???...AND NO IT DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE GONNA KILL YOURSELF...ITS JUST THE STATISTICS...SO GET OVER IT.

AND HC_SMILES I think your gonna end up killing yourself cause the only thing that matters to you seems to be the money in dentistry...maybe you should rethink your career, cause if money is only thing you like about dentistry, then you probably will be depressed isolated and feel frustrated in a career that you thaught was about the money, and be part of the statsitic!!! dentistry should be about MANY other things before about the money!

haha!!
 
seansk said:
FOR ALL THOSE WHO THINK IT IS A RUMOR, READ THE ARTICLES I POSTED UP... AND THEN SPEAK...ITS NOT A RUMOR FIRST OF ALL, AND I AM GOING TO DENTAL SCHOOL ALSO SO NO, I AM NOT JEALOUS...PLEASE DO NOT TALK ABOUT SOMETHING WITHOUT GETTING THE FACTS TOGETHER FIRST...HOW THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS GONNA BE DENTISTS???...AND NO IT DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE GONNA KILL YOURSELF...ITS JUST THE STATISTICS...SO GET OVER IT.

AND HC_SMILES I think your gonna end up killing yourself cause the only thing that matters to you seems to be the money in dentistry...maybe you should rethink your career, cause if money is only thing you like about dentistry, then you probably will be depressed isolated and feel frustrated in a career that you thaught was about the money, and be part of the statsitic!!! dentistry should be about MANY other things before about the money!

haha!!

dude, take a chill pill. i said it to lighten the mood. sounds like ur more prone to the suicide poll
 
HC_smiles said:
dude, take a chill pill. i said it to lighten the mood. sounds like ur more prone to the suicide poll


chilin!!! lighten the mood!!! you're funny!!
 
sure dentistry shouldn't be more about the money... but it is. if it's less about the money and more about helping people then wouldn't medicine be a good field? why do you think dental admissions are increasing year after year? the prospect of making more money by doing less work is intriguing to anyone who wants to be in healthcare. about the suicide issue, who cares? sure, dentists have the highest suicide rates... but that's because of the reason i've stated above. because of how lucrative dentistry is, you don't even have to REALLY want to be a dentist and you'll still be making huge sums of money working < 40 hours a week... this attracts all types of people from all walks of life. when you have free time and too much money, it's nearly inevitable that you start to get involved in things that you otherwise would not have. that's my 2.66666666667 cents :)
 
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vize said:
sure dentistry shouldn't be more about the money... but it is. if it's less about the money and more about helping people then wouldn't medicine be a good field? why do you think dental admissions are increasing year after year? the prospect of making more money by doing less work is intriguing to anyone who wants to be in healthcare. about the suicide issue, who cares? sure, dentists have the highest suicide rates... but that's because of the reason i've stated above. because of how lucrative dentistry is, you don't even have to REALLY want to be a dentist and you'll still be making huge sums of money working < 40 hours a week... this attracts all types of people from all walks of life. when you have free time and too much money, it's nearly inevitable that you start to get involved in things that you otherwise would not have. that's my 2.66666666667 cents :)


your absolutely right...it shouldn't be but it is. oh well,
 
seansk said:
FOR ALL THOSE WHO THINK IT IS A RUMOR, READ THE ARTICLES I POSTED UP... AND THEN SPEAK...ITS NOT A RUMOR FIRST OF ALL, AND I AM GOING TO DENTAL SCHOOL ALSO SO NO, I AM NOT JEALOUS...PLEASE DO NOT TALK ABOUT SOMETHING WITHOUT GETTING THE FACTS TOGETHER FIRST...HOW THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS GONNA BE DENTISTS???...AND NO IT DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE GONNA KILL YOURSELF...ITS JUST THE STATISTICS...SO GET OVER IT.

The ******s who type in all caps...

Like I said, i love posts like this.

Most of us are science majors or have a degree in the sciences. if you still beleive that statistics like the ones you posted are true than you have learned very little of the little thing called the scientific method. The results of all those pisant articles are merely surveys conducted by acne faced pubescent students making 6 bucks an hour...

Which leads to the money thing. There are always the altruistic ones vs. the greedy ones on here. Lets face it. Dentists make good money. Hell yes it's a good reason to go into dentistry. Can you make more money going into another field. YES probably easier than 8 years of school. Go figure.
 
ObviousGuy said:
The ******s who type in all caps...

Like I said, i love posts like this.

Most of us are science majors or have a degree in the sciences. if you still beleive that statistics like the ones you posted are true than you have learned very little of the little thing called the scientific method. The results of all those pisant articles are merely surveys conducted by acne faced pubescent students making 6 bucks an hour...

Which leads to the money thing. There are always the altruistic ones vs. the greedy ones on here. Lets face it. Dentists make good money. Hell yes it's a good reason to go into dentistry. Can you make more money going into another field. YES probably easier than 8 years of school. Go figure.

well i guess if we can't believe the CDA california dental association then maybe we shouldn't become dentists, and how would you suggest doing statistcal studies...did you even read the article??? I'm sorry lets just stop taking statistics as we are right now and pay the students 200 dollars an hour to take surveys, that'll give us more accurate readings!!! be realistic! to disqualify such studies completely, does not prove the opposite!!

lets disqalify a study and go with your percise and accurate methods of reasearch "the money thing." haha your funny.

what is your point exactly?? this thread is about suicide, either you believe that suicide rate is high in denists or you think it's a rumor!! you never said which one it is?
you are entitled to your opinion, but you must also consider facts.
 
seansk said:
well i guess if we can't believe the CDA california dental association then maybe we shouldn't become dentists, and how would you suggest doing statistcal studies...did you even read the article??? I'm sorry lets just stop taking statistics as we are right now and pay the students 200 dollars an hour to take surveys, that'll give us more accurate readings!!! be realistic! to disqualify such studies completely, does not prove the opposite!!

lets disqalify a study and go with your percise and accurate methods of reasearch "the money thing." haha your funny.

what is your point exactly?? this thread is about suicide, either you believe that suicide rate is high in denists or you think it's a rumor!! you never said which one it is?
you are entitled to your opinion, but you must also consider facts.

relax man. what IF the rumors are true? WHAT IF?!!!! What if you are an unmarried, white, protestant male dentist living in Seattle? Then do you even have a choice? Then, don't you have to commit suicide or something? Its not as if suicide is a rooftop sniper waiting to shoot you down when you least expect it. Like if your demographics or chosen profession is "statistically" wrong you have no choice. Ultimately, it is still a decision YOU make.

The points I guess you are trying to make are 1.) The rumor that dentists have a higher than avg suicide rate is true and 2.) Because the rumor is true there must be something about dentistry that is unpleasant or intolerable.

My question is: even if either of your points are true, so what?

My advice for you is to get a shrink and stay away from pointy objects. Preoccupation with suicide and high strung banter are warning signs.
 
Gulch said:
relax man. what IF the rumors are true? WHAT IF?!!!! What if you are an unmarried, white, protestant male dentist living in Seattle? Then do you even have a choice? Then, don't you have to commit suicide or something? Its not as if suicide is a rooftop sniper waiting to shoot you down when you least expect it. Like if your demographics or chosen profession is "statistically" wrong you have no choice. Ultimately, it is still a decision YOU make.

The points I guess you are trying to make are 1.) The rumor that dentists have a higher than avg suicide rate is true and 2.) Because the rumor is true there must be something about dentistry that is unpleasant or intolerable.

My question is: even if either of your points are true, so what?

My advice for you is to get a shrink and stay away from pointy objects. Preoccupation with suicide and high strung banter are warning signs.


maybe people took my point the wrong way...I as well as many people here are gonna be dentists... and personally I have no problem with the statistics...what bothers me is that all these people do not wana believe the facts because they themselves are going to dental school and there's probably something in the back of their mind that bothers them...I guess if thats what you wana do so be it...my only point was to decipher fact and fiction and just wanted to let people know this is a fact...but there's nothing wrong with it...I am going to dental school and I know I'm gonna love it...

It's just part of reality, if you don't wana believe it fine!! be ignorant!! but this in no way means you're going to go commit suicide...

I guess it takes away from your status if other people knew that your profession had a statistic of such...but who cares...most people's ego's get bothered when someone tells them that dentists have high suicide rates so they just disqaulify it and call it a rumor...


I love this forum and all the people here...and we're are having a good discussion here...maybe some people take all things way too personal!! maybe sometimes I take somethings personal!! but I laugh at the end of it and its all fun!

but honestly who cares!! live life, be happy, work hard, party hard!!
 
I think the answer's could be little more basic. Everyone gets depressed at some point in their life. That's normal. Many people think about suicide- that's pretty normal too. But for the layman, suicide is a messy, painful business, and there is always a chance you will only maim yourself.
Dentists on the other hand have the best method right at their fingertips. Quick, painless, and you go out with a smile. Nitrous oxide...

sorry to be morbid, but it's true
 
pine88 said:
I think the answer's could be little more basic. Everyone gets depressed at some point in their life. That's normal. Many people think about suicide- that's pretty normal too. But for the layman, suicide is a messy, painful business, and there is always a chance you will only maim yourself.
Dentists on the other hand have the best method right at their fingertips. Quick, painless, and you go out with a smile. Nitrous oxide...

sorry to be morbid, but it's true

Not to be morbid either, but I've seen probably about thirty suicides in past year. Not a great sample size, but hopefully more than most. For what its worth: No dentists. My guess is if you're committing suicide you don't really care about how messy you leave yourself. Well, lets call it an educated guess.
 
A Dentist in my neighborhood shot his wife, then shot and killed himself.

Also, a pysch. professor of mine also mentioned the statistic a while back...so go figure
 
muz said:
A Dentist in my neighborhood shot his wife, then shot and killed himself.

Also, a pysch. professor of mine also mentioned the statistic a while back...so go figure

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. Death is pretty easy to talk about when you're dealing in numbers and percentages, but its different when its someone you knew or met once.

I saw that you're going to UM on predents.com. See you at orientation! :thumbup:
 
In every class there will most likely be 1 child molester, 1 severely violent person, and 1 that's a hairline from goign off the deep end, usually within the first month you'll figure out who these people are. It's actually kinda fun! Me and some of my friends have a pool going for folks in my year.
 
i've heard temple dentists are more inclined to experiment with suicide
 
...experiment with suicide. :laugh: :laugh:

that's just a funny phrase
 
Sprgrover said:
I think you have to have a death wish to go to dental school in the first place...

Are you having a bad day?
 
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