News brief
A study conducted at New York University and published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association found that most dentists had experienced physical, verbal, or reputational aggression from patients within the past year, and most had experienced such aggression at some point during their careers. (In the press release, examples of reputational aggression given include “threats of lawsuits” and “posting nasty comments on social media.”)
Although small, with 98 participants practicing in the New York City metropolitan area, it is the first such study of US dentists.
According to an NYU press release, “Rates of aggression did not differ by dentists’ sex, race, ethnicity, specialty, age, years practicing, or average number of patients treated per day.” A similar study of dental students found that they were at even higher risk of experiencing workplace aggression.
