Suicide

[Ething]

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O.K. how come almost every time I tell someone that I am pre-dental they say "don't do that...I hear that dentists have the highest rate of suicide"? Does this piss you guys off as much as it pisses me off? I have heard this "fact" ever since I was a little kid and I was wondering if anyone knew where it came from and if it has any validity to it (I'm pretty sure that it was made up by some shmoe). Do people also say this to you guys all the time???

 

[duho.O]

people say that to me too....but i think that's a bunch of bull.

 

[mynameistino]

we all know its a myth. Premed is alot more stressful to go in to than dentistry

 

[Jaba]

I think it is BS as well. I think the myth is because a dentist spends a good portion of time staring into the mouth and ppl say that gets boring. Also that there is little social life associated with being a dentist... a lot of crap...

 

[DentalBoarder]

dentistry #1

architecture #2

my dentist/mentor/boss/friend/etc told me it's cuz dentists are perfectionists and the outcome actually affects a human being directly. i was thinking a lot of the older dentists became dentists for money, not b/c they actually wanted the profession. maybe they were med school drop outs. who knows? and who cares. dont let it get to you.

 

[Blando]

we should start a post for the best comebacks to that statement, the only one i can really think of, and that i've told people is that the only reason im going to be a dentist is to prove the statistic wrong, its sorta stupid, but its all i can come up with..

 

[pine88]

maybe dental students made it up to scare away the competition 😉

 

[Blando]

or you could tell them you filled out a form, while you were committed at the psych ward, for compatible occupations, and it was #1 on your list

 

[jkh1886]

nope. law promotes suicide, drug abuse and alcoholics. no other profession tops law in producing social catastrophies.

 

[Ething]

nope. law promotes suicide, drug abuse and alcoholics. no other profession tops law in producing social catastrophies.

Is that a fact or is this an opinion? I want to know if there is statistical evidence out there for this stuff. If it is true....I would think that it is because many dentists are perfectionists. Also, in the past, many dentists were always second best.......they didnt make it into med school. Being second best can be worse than being last sometimes. But I still dont think that that would lead to a "higher rate of suicide". I actually heard recently that Chemists had the highest suicide rate....I guess they just have the easiest access to quick and painless ways to go.

 

[QuikClot]

According to "Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative," published 2002: "The rates of suicide in the United States are exceptionally high in white males over 75 years of age, Native Americans, and certain professions, including dentists."

Seems legit -- five times the national average, I read somewhere else. But let's think it through. Dentists have a good life. They make lots of money, have reasonable working hours, and rarely half to deal with death-and-dying-type stress. So why are they hanging themselves in the shower? It has to be the character of the people who go into the profession, not the profession itself. Therefore whether you go into the profession or not will not affect your, personal, risk of suicide.

 

[DentalBoarder]

we should start a post for the best comebacks to that statement, the only one i can really think of, and that i've told people is that the only reason im going to be a dentist is to prove the statistic wrong, its sorta stupid, but its all i can come up with..

reply with: "you have nothing better to say, you idiot?" eh.. i'm an angry person though so it fits me when i say it.

 

[pine88]

or you could tell them you filled out a form, while you were committed at the psych ward, for compatible occupations, and it was #1 on your list

I actually heard recently that Chemists had the highest suicide rate....I guess they just have the easiest access to quick and painless ways to go.

Bingo. So do dentists.

 

[dmonee6]

One possible reason for this could be that almost EVERYONE hates going to the dentist. You don't really ever hear of someone saying that they are excited to go to the dentist. So as a dentist, when you hear your patients constantly saying that they hate you and they are always stressed out/crying around you... could get a little depressing.

 

[SugarNaCl]

People simply don't understand if they aren't in the profession. Just as I have frequently heard from friends of mine..."my sister so and so isn't smart enough to get into med school, so she is just going to try to get into dental school." If they only knew. My aunt also said just the other day... "you just want to drill on people's teeth all day??" What do these people seriously think dentistry is? Most, even if they go to the dentist are totally CLUELESS about the occupation. Let's keep it that way...better for us if they stay out of dentistry 🙂

 

[bionerd]

I know several dentists, and it seems as though none could inspire respect from me. They all seem like money-grubbing, workaholics who don't know what fun is and are either unscrupulous or a wimp. Therefore, I believe it's the people and not the profession.

 

[cdmOMR]

One possible reason for this could be that almost EVERYONE hates going to the dentist. You don't really ever hear of someone saying that they are excited to go to the dentist. So as a dentist, when you hear your patients constantly saying that they hate you and they are always stressed out/crying around you... could get a little depressing.

I agree and disagree at the same time. Ive worked as an assitant for 2.5 years and I would say 85% of patients thank either me or the dentist when we are done working on them. But it is true that not many people are extatic about going to the dentist...however if you are not only good at what you do (to make it as painless/comfortable as possible) but also sociable with the patients, they may start loosing this stigma of going to the dentist.

I also think a lot of the stigma around dentists come from an era where there were no high speed handpieces, anesthetic needles were the size of your finger and were reusable, and you spat in a bowl instead of suction.

Either way, the dentist is still not always the most loved person and i think its plausible for more dentists to be depressed. Really though, I think its more fiction than fact.

 

[Heli-Doctor]

Heres some articles you can look up if you have nothing to do. Sorry I couldn't give links for them. I had to read one for a pre-dental class and the art I read said that rates are generally higher ammong all health professions and not just dentists, and that elevated rate is only slightly higher than the average for a white male. Reporting error due to higher profile individuals (i.e. health proffesionals) may account for the elevated rate also.

Alexander RE. Stress-related suicide by dentists and other health care workers. Fact or folklore?. Journal of the American Dental Association. 132(6):786-94, 2001 Jun

Stein GM. Challenging the myth of the suicide-prone dentist. Northwest Dentistry. 83(1):35-8, 2004 Jan-Feb.

Arnetz BB. Horte LG. Hedberg A. Malker H. Suicide among Swedish dentists. A ten-year follow-up study. Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine. 15(4):243-6, 1987.

Lang-Runtz H. Stress in dentistry: it can kill you. Journal (Canadian Dental Association). 50(7):539-41, 1984 Jul.

 

[jim85213]

I know an individual who makes his living by assisting dentists (and other health care professionals) with the business-end of their practices. His OPINION on the suicide problem is that dentists come out of dental school around $250K in debt and they have the mentality that they are a successful dentist and they are already rich. They open a practice at $500K, buy the big house, the boat, and the summer home, then they realize their practice isn't doing well enough to support their consumerism and they go bankrupt. That would be enough to drive someone (who is predisposed) to suicide. Like I said, it's opinion but it makes sense to me.

 

[Fuji]

I went to MIT where suicides are all too common. From my experiences in college and with family members who suffer from depression, some people are predisposed to battling the types of depression that lead to self-destructive behavior or suicide. While some people can handle all sorts of crazy stressors, others can not. So, just like some students could handle the pressures of MIT while others could not, some people will be able to handle $3/4 million in debt, a divorce, and the reality that a dental diploma didn't solve all their other problems, make them famous, or please their parents.

 

[TechKUSA]

the reason why dentists are high on the suicide list is they have easy access to various forms of medial suicides. a friend of mine took a class on deaht and suicide and let me knew about it.

 

[jkh1886]

I think EVERYone here may be misterpreting one important thing....

when a police officer responds to a 911 call, comes into a dental office, and sees a dentist dead on one of the patient chairs, he immediately thinks...this must be a case of suicide!

...he's overlooking the possibility that, it's just a Friday night. Some dentists like to go into their own clinics and ease the pain of life with their own, unlimited supply of nitrous. But they just happened to fall asleep and overdose on that junk. Whoops. It may not be suicide. He just accidentally fell asleep while self administering one of nature's finest....

 

[nothen2do]

Response: "Show me where you read dentists have a high suicide rate" Thats all it does to quiet them down. Anyways, I recall somewhere in SDN an an article link saying that health professionals in general have a higher suicide rate, especially white males

 

[nhs73]

so my brother goes to medical school and i guess during the first couple of weeks of med school they were told that medical doctors have the highest rate in four major categories: 1) suicide
2) substance abuse (1/3 medical doctors have substance abuse problems at sometime in thier life)
3) divorce
4) alcoholism


...so im thinking dentistry is a good way to go!! dont worry about the whole dentists have the highest suicide rate...if you look into dentistry thoroughly before attending dental school im sure you will be fine!

 

[aphistis]

I think EVERYone here may be misterpreting one important thing....

when a police officer responds to a 911 call, comes into a dental office, and sees a dentist dead on one of the patient chairs, he immediately thinks...this must be a case of suicide!

...he's overlooking the possibility that, it's just a Friday night. Some dentists like to go into their own clinics and ease the pain of life with their own, unlimited supply of nitrous. But they just happened to fall asleep and overdose on that junk. Whoops. It may not be suicide. He just accidentally fell asleep while self administering one of nature's finest....

It's actually pretty much impossible to kill yourself huffing nitrous. 🙂 Adding other stuff to the mix can get you in trouble quick, but N2O by itself is pretty harmless no matter how hard you try.

 

[aphistis]

nope. law promotes suicide, drug abuse and alcoholics. no other profession tops law in producing social catastrophies.

For the record, this quote is brilliant. 🙂

 

[HermeytheElf]

It's actually pretty much impossible to kill yourself huffing nitrous. 🙂 Adding other stuff to the mix can get you in trouble quick, but N2O by itself is pretty harmless no matter how hard you try.

Depends on how you're mixing the 02 and N20...if you have very high N20 concentration, its very easy to black out and die of asphyxiation if you have the mask strapped on and noone's around to take it off. [edit]

 

[Ething]

Depends on how you're mixing the 02 and N20...if you have very high N20 concentration, its very easy to black out and die of asphyxiation if you have the mask strapped on and noone's around to take it off. Next time you've had a long week in clinic, give this a try: put the end of the hose from the N20 tank(no 02 in the mix) in your mouth(instead of using the mask)...when you pass out, the tube falls out of your mouth and you're fine. Or so I've heard 😉...

This is rediculous!!! I started this thread to bring up something that I thought was a myth in order to find out the truth behind it and if it annoyed people as much as it annoyed me. I NEVER expected it to turn into a discussion on WAYs to efficiently kill yourself as a dentist (mixing N2O and O2 in different ratios, etc). I'm starting to believe that the myth may actually not be a myth. Oy, I think I'm going to switch over to medicine now....jk.

 

[HermeytheElf]

This is rediculous!!! I started this thread to bring up something that I thought was a myth in order to find out the truth behind it and if it annoyed people as much as it annoyed me. I NEVER expected it to turn into a discussion on WAYs to efficiently kill yourself as a dentist (mixing N2O and O2 in different ratios, etc). I'm starting to believe that the myth may actually not be a myth. Oy, I think I'm going to switch over to medicine now....jk.

[edit]

 

[LNinlove]

When people ask me why I want to stare into peoples mouths and smell their nasty breath all day, my response is fairly simple. "It's better than being a proctologist!!" That gets them to laugh and they forget about the question!

The same question could be asked about many other professions. "I wanna be a politician"..."well...why do you want to lie all day?" I could go on and on, but the point that I would like to make is that we are doing it because we really enjoy it. Personally I love science and I feel that I can help a lot of people with the skills that I will learn in dental school.

In my oppinion (it has been said many times before) people just don't like the dentist! My wife is terrified of going to the dentist. She "hates it more than anything." Our generation should try to change this...

My great uncle was a dentist. He isn't the nicest fella in the world...so I really understand how people can be afraid of the dentist. Things aren't like they used to be...obviously.

 

[54807]

According to "Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative," published 2002: "The rates of suicide in the United States are exceptionally high in white males over 75 years of age, Native Americans, and certain professions, including dentists."

Seems legit -- five times the national average, I read somewhere else. But let's think it through. Dentists have a good life. They make lots of money, have reasonable working hours, and rarely half to deal with death-and-dying-type stress. So why are they hanging themselves in the shower? It has to be the character of the people who go into the profession, not the profession itself. Therefore whether you go into the profession or not will not affect your, personal, risk of suicide.

I agree. I've been told you "must be attention to detail oriented and be nearly obsessive compulsive if you are to be a general dentist". Maybe the types of people that go into the profession are truely obsessive and that leads to suicide. But like you said, I don't think being a dentist pushes one to kill themself. Who knows. The only thing I'm obsessed with is getting my nap every day and trying to delay hw....I don't think that'll lead to death.

 

[Ething]

I agree. I've been told you "must be attention to detail oriented and be nearly obsessive compulsive if you are to be a general dentist". Maybe the types of people that go into the profession are truely obsessive and that leads to suicide. But like you said, I don't think being a dentist pushes one to kill themself. Who knows. The only thing I'm obsessed with is getting my nap every day and trying to delay hw....I don't think that'll lead to death.

No, but I don't think it will lead to success in dental school either.

 

[doctorloomis]

I've experienced the dangers of nitrous first-hand and to say that it's nearly impossible to die from nitrous is utterly profound and wrong. We just had a female dentist in my town die recently from nitrous overdose. One evening this past spring, she didn't come home to her family, so they went looking for her. Her husband went up the clinic, found her lifeless in the chair with the gas still running, and called the police. The medical examiner ruled it an accidental death from nitrous aphixiation. She had been having shoulder problems and was two weeks away from shoulder surgery. She didnt' have mental problems and was not the type to abuse drugs. Little did she know that she would be on the frontpage of the local paper the next morning.

Even though we don't know all the details because we weren't there, the medical examiner felt that she probably slipped on the mask for a few minutes to ease the pain and then go home to her family. Instead, she fell asleep in the chair and the O2 depleting properties of the nitrous took care of the rest (suffocation). She left behind a wonderful husband and two young children. Now her husband has to deal with losing his wife and going through life explaining to his children that they'll never see their mother again. A few minutes of N2O to ease the pain was harmless enough but her falling asleep cost her this life. It doesn't seem right at all, but nothing does until it happens to you. Be careful out there and always respect the tools of dentistry.

 

[psiyung]

Ive been in school now for 3 years, and the rumors about suicide are turning out to be true. Ive never met more bitter people in my life.

 

[nhs73]

Ive been in school now for 3 years, and the rumors about suicide are turning out to be true. Ive never met more bitter people in my life.

do you regret going into dentistry?

 

[Ething]

Ive been in school now for 3 years, and the rumors about suicide are turning out to be true. Ive never met more bitter people in my life.

Hmm...maybe us optimistic pre-dents dont really know what we are talkin about.

 

[EyeAmCommi]

One possible reason for this could be that almost EVERYONE hates going to the dentist. You don't really ever hear of someone saying that they are excited to go to the dentist.

Bingo. This could be the reason why the myth exists.

However, some people get "stuck" in the profession because of debt and immobility that they could be driven to suicide. I've heard of at least one dentist who did commit suicide due to his/her feeling trapped.

 

[psiyung]

do you regret going into dentistry?

Not really. I just keep to myself a lot of the times. I have a couple of good friends at the school, and hang out with them off and on. I enjoy dentistry a lot, but the political BS that I have seen at my school goes without merit sometimes. If you're type A personality, you'll fit right in with the dental "team". If not, keep a low profile and just graduate.

 

[psiyung]

Let me also add that it doesnt matter how good your waxups look, and well you can prep. Just gain speed, and move forward. You'll know what this means in 3-4 years.

 

[bionerd]

Let me also add that it doesnt matter how good your waxups look, and well you can prep. Just gain speed, and move forward. You'll know what this means in 3-4 years.

just explain it! we'll probably forget about your post in 3-4 years...

 

[psiyung]

just explain it! we'll probably forget about your post in 3-4 years...

ill bump it 😀