A new U.S. study of death records from 1979 through 2018 found that both male and female dentists had higher suicide mortality than the general population, and that the risk has trended upward since the mid-1990s.
The study, published online ahead of print in the Journal of the American Dental Association in October 2025, set out to update older research that mainly focused on White male dentists and was last published before 2000. The authors said their goal was to assess suicide mortality among male and female U.S. dentists, examine methods of suicide and track trends over time.
How the study was conducted
Researchers used data from the American Dental Association (ADA), which maintains a national database of dentists trained or practising in the United States. Those records were matched to the National Death Index to identify dentists who died between 1979 and 2018 and to determine which deaths were caused by intentional self-harm. The analysis calculated proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs), adjusted for age, sex, race and calendar period, and compared dentists with the general U.S. population.
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What the study found
Out of 21,928 eligible dentist death records, 475 deaths — 2.2 per cent — were attributed to suicide.
• The PMR for suicide was 2.01 (95% CI, 1.83 to 2.21; P < .001) for male dentists, meaning male dentists were about twice as likely to die by suicide compared with the general population.
• For female dentists, the PMR was 2.15 (95% CI, 1.23 to 3.49; P = .009), suggesting a similarly elevated risk.
• Firearms were the leading method among male dentists, involved in 61.4 per cent of suicides.
• Among female dentists, deaths were split between firearms (31.3 per cent) and hanging (31.3 per cent).
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Why it matters
The authors noted that dentistry has changed significantly over the past two decades. The profession is more diverse, with women making up at least half of graduating dental school classes since 2009, according to the ADA’s Health Policy Institute. A more diverse workforce means risks cannot be understood only through the historical lens of White male dentists, which is how suicide in dentistry was traditionally studied.
They also pointed to burnout, anxiety and depression as ongoing pressures within dentistry. Those mental health stressors, if unaddressed, can harm not only clinicians but also patient care and safety. The authors concluded that suicide prevention resources designed for dentists — including reducing stigma, addressing occupational stressors and improving access to mental health supports — “may be beneficial.”
“Reducing stigma and enhancing access to mental health services could lessen the risk of suicide for dental care professionals,” the authors wrote.
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‘The stigma is beginning to lift’
Clinician wellness and mental health have become more visible inside organized dentistry, including at the ADA’s national level.
Brett Kessler, D.D.S., who concluded his term as the ADA’s 161st president on Oct. 28, 2025, has spoken publicly about addiction and recovery as part of his push to normalize mental health conversations in the profession. “Twenty-seven years ago, I was at rock bottom in my addiction,” Dr. Kessler told the ADA House of Delegates. “I didn’t know if I wanted to live, let alone be a dentist. But through the gift of grace, I chose sobriety. And it was this community … that set me on a path to recovery.”
Kessler said clinician wellness was a core pillar of his presidency. “This year we changed the narrative and culture around clinician wellness,” he told delegates on Oct. 25, 2025. “We elevated our wellness resources to members, dental teams and students at no cost. The stigma is beginning to lift.”
Kessler’s term also unfolded during what he called “a year of constant challenges,” including political attacks on community water fluoridation, questions around infection control and cuts to federal research funding. He argued that defending evidence-based dentistry and supporting the mental health of dental teams must go hand in hand.