Man Ends His Own Life Dealing with Wisdom Tooth Pain

Recently a 38 year year old man took his own life while he was waiting to have a wisdom tooth removed. This occurred in Southampton in England in April 2019. The man had been on a waiting list on the National Health Service (NHS) to have his wisdom tooth extracted. He came down with a severe toothache in January 2019 and saw a dentist. After seeing the dentist the man began to take large amounts of painkillers. His mother began to save up money so they could afford private treatment for the extraction. At the time of the death it was estimated the mother had saved about 900 British Pounds  of the 1,500 British Pounds needed for surgery. In the weeks leading up to the death the co-workers of the man said he was always asking to work overtime. After his … Read more

Designing a Predoctoral Dental Curriculum To Help With Therapy Issues such as Stress Management and Suicide Prevention

An interesting article titled “Tackling Stress Management, Addiction, and Suicide Prevention in a Predoctoral Dental Curriculum” by Brondani et al. appears in the Journal of Dental Education, vol. 78, no. 9, pp. 1286-1293, September, 2014. The article discusses many issues commonly dealt with in therapy such as stress management, addiction, and suicide prevention being incorporated into a predoctoral dental curriculum. The article discusses how a lot of research has been conducted over the years regarding ways for health professionals to cope with depression and stress. In such works, dentists have been singed out as among the most likely to experience severe stress, depression, and substance abuse. The article mentions how dentists are considered to have some of the highest rates of deliberate self-harm such as suicide among all health professionals. Reasons for suicide can often be a consequence of an … Read more

Medical Students Are At Risk For Suicide

Medical students have the difficult task of learning through science and rigorous academic training to take care of others. Med students can suffer from many ailments including anxiety, stress or migraines or even worse. Being a doctor of any kind is quite simply about learning to make other people feel better, and it’s possible to heal your patient that’s the goal. Unfortunately, there are times when a patient doesn’t make it and that can feel devastating to a med student who is undergoing training, such as a resident. You are just learning and have a sense of optimism about the field. You want to help people, genuinely and seeing your patient die is a tragedy and can leave you feeling depressed. According to The American Medical Student Association, med students are three times as likely to die by suicide than … Read more