I went to visit my dentist recently and I was amazed that both my dentist and the dental nurse told me of the awful verbal abuse they receive from some of their patients. 

Now, I do appreciate that tooth ache or having some specific work done on your teeth can be uncomfortable to say the least, and in some cases extremely painful and debilitating, but why do some people persist in blaming the people who are trying to help them?

I have witnessed first hand the hatred and abuse directed at public service personnel at the times they are providing help and support to the people who need it. I am also aware that, in addition to dentistry, medical professionals in hospitals and local surgeries also have similar issues. 

So in these instances of seemingly mindless behaviour, what is the common thread running through the situations of verbal or physical assault?

I believe the cause of the behaviour is poor management of cumulative stress that leads to uncontrolled reactions born from negative emotions at a time of personal stress. 

Let's take Dentistry as an example. When a person is faced with pain, or fear of being put in pain they might blame the dental staff around them. A patient might also be feeling guilt, shame and disappointment in themselves for not looking after their teeth which led to the toothache and consequently their tooth being removed. Their frustration is then taken out on the person nearest to them. The patient has not been able to deal with that period of acute stress because their cumulative stress levels were too high before going to the dentist. 

These subjective reactions from patients are not helpful. I do believe the Dentist or Dental Nurse are not the actual targets of the abuse but more so the uniform they wear, however, unfairly there is normally little thought for the personal hurt and distress the Dentist, Dental Nurse or any other helping professional is likely to feel in their workplace due to the patients abusive behaviour. 

Calling all Dentists! Finding ways to manage your general cumulative stress is vitally important for keeping you operating at the top of your game, for maintaining wellness in your working life and preventing burnout which might lead to alcoholism and potentially suicide. Of course patient behaviour might only be one stressful aspect of your job that you have to manage. 

I was shocked to note that the suicide rate in the dental industry is high in comparison to other white collar industries. I want to help reduce the occurrences of this life ending step and limit the devastating impact it causes to those left behind.  

There is no problem that you cannot get help with. 

Please, just talk about it.

Oh, thank you for asking - my teeth are all good for another year :-)