Response to patients' death and bereavement in dental practice

Abstract

Coping with patient deaths and family bereavement has received minimal attention in dental education and literature. This study was conducted to determine how frequently dentists experience patient deaths, how they cope with the knowledge of a patient's death, and if they demonstrate need for emphasis in the dental curricula in the areas of death and bereavement. A survey adapted from Chiodo and Tolle (1988) was sent to all 2091 dentists in the State of Kentucky. The response rate was 47.68% (997 returned surveys). Findings include: (1) General dentists (GDs) have a significantly higher number of patients who die each year than do specialists (S) (GD = 7, S = 1.5); (2) coping behaviors range from sending sympathy cards (63%) to attending the funeral (23%); (3) patient deaths cause stress, most stress occurring when patients die unexpectedly; (4) the greatest stress was encountered when talking with the patient's family; and (5) most dentists (58%) believed that bereavement education should occur in dental school. In conclusion, this research adds to the limited literature on appropriate coping behaviors by dentists when patients die and suggests that death and bereavement education should occur in the dental school setting to prepare practicing dentists for coping with patient loss due to death, and to provide family bereavement support mechanisms.

Understanding emotionally relevant situations in primary care dental practice: 1. Clinical situations and emotional responses

“…42 The interviewees' sympathetic responses to illness and death in patients' families are very much in line with those found amongst dentists in the USA. 45 The concept of the need for perfectionism in clinical work has been acknowledged as a stressor.…”

Death, dying and bereavement: a survey of dental practitioners

“…Dentists are encountering a significant number of patient deaths within their practices. Chiodo and Tolle 4 reported that Oregon dentists encountered an average of five deaths per year and Henry et al 5 indicated that in Kentucky, general dentists and specialists experienced an average of seven deaths while specialists had only 1.5 deaths per dentist.…”

“…Despite providing bereavement support and generally feeling effective in comforting survivors, dentists have reported experiencing significant stress in this role. 4,5,9 Similarly, dentists experience stress when caring for terminally ill patients, especially when they limit treatment due to a shortened life expectancy, or listen to the patients discussing their limited prognosis. 5 Several studies 6,9,13 suggest that such stress may stem from insufficient formal education and exposure to issues of death, dying, and bereavement.…”

“…A one-page previously validated survey, adapted from Chiodo and Tolle 4 and Henry et al, 5 together with an explanatory cover letter and prepaid return envelope, was mailed to 200 randomly selected dentists in Ontario, Canada, in June 2005. There was no follow up after the first mailing.…”

“…The questionnaire utilized within this study was not revalidated; however, it was adapted from two previous studies. 4,5 The sample size within this study was from a single mailing, and although small, the results obtained may actually present a symptom of the lack of understanding of death and bereavement.…”