One in Five Dentists Has Romantic Involvement with a Patient, Survey Says

There's little doubt that mixing romance with work can be risky at best and a family and career-buster at worst. According to a Nov. 5 press release, most dental professionals advise against getting romantically involved with a patient. However, a recent dental survey conducted by The Wealthy Dentist found that one in five dentists, including both male and female dentists, reports becoming romantically involved with a patient at some point in their career.

Female dentists were more outspoken about the inappropriateness of dating a patient, however. Said one, "I'm in the military - it would be a career ender for me to become involved with my patients." Another said it's "totally inappropriate," while a third cited the fact that "it's wrong according to the Hippocratic Oath." Even a female dentist who involved herself romantically with a patient advises against it. She said that "when I first started as a dentist and was working in a clinic, I had a relationship with a patient. I was young and foolish then. I wouldn't advise it now!"

According to the survey, male dentists were significantly more likely to involve themselves romantically with their patients, citing that "romantic chemistry just happens." A male implantologist said he "became romantically involved with several patients when I was single, young and foolish." Another said it's "not an issue that I should care about if it doesn't affect my work," while a third says he believes "it's okay. There can be chemistry that takes place between a man and a lady irrespective of the patient-doctor thing."

So, where does the Hippocratic Oath come in? NOVA online article "The Hippocratic Oath Today: Meaningless Relic or Invaluable Moral Guide?" says the Oath and its principles "are held sacred by doctors to this day: treat the sick to the best of one's ability, preserve patient privacy, teach the secrets of medicine to the next generation, and so on." Further, the article states, nearly all medical schools today administer the oath in some form. That being said, a 1993 survey of 150 medical schools in Canada and the U.S. found that just three percent forbid sexual contact with patients. The NOVA article also states: "With all this in mind, some doctors see oath-taking as little more than a pro-forma ritual with little value beyond that of upholding tradition."

Jim Du Molin is a dental consultant and the president of The Wealthy Dentist. In summation of their survey, Du Molin said: "I see it all the time. Romance happens in the waiting room. I've heard horror stories over the years on how romances went wrong... and nice stories about how they went right. I think it's a case of 'You never know.' To me, it looks like the responding male dentists are... well, it's a case of, boys will be boys. The responding female dentists seem more practical and sensible to the pluses and minuses of doctor-patient romances. Anything is possible. You be the judge."

Sources:

Press release, Frisky Business: The Not-So-Secret Lives of Dentists - Dentists Admit to Office Hanky-Panky with Patients in National Survey Results; http://www.prweb.com/releases/dentist/romance/prweb566737.htm

NOVA online article, "The Hippocratic Oath Today: Meaningless Relic or Invaluable Moral Guide?"; http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_today.html