It’s a usual work morning at the dental office—same room, same chair, and I am reviewing the schedule that shapes my day as a dental hygienist. That morning, at 10:00 am, I was ready for a patient I had seen regularly. As with other patients, I knew their medical history, oral hygiene and dietary habits, even grandkids and life updates. The operatory was set, x-rays and periodontal chart open and ready to be updated. The schedule was full. But the patient never arrived …
At the beginning, it felt like a regular no-show. I waited. I checked the clock. The front desk tried to call, but there was no answer. Thirty minutes later, the phone rang. The patient’s family member was calling to inform us that the patient had passed away. The room suddenly froze.
We’re not prepared for patient loss in hygiene school
Dental hygiene schools prepare us to manage gingivitis, periodontal disease, systemic conditions, and patient anxiety, but it does not prepare us for the moment when a patient we know is gone. There are no guidelines for how to emotionally handle reviewing a patient’s chart and setting up the operatory and then processing loss. There is no time to pause because the next patient is already waiting to be called. Many hygienists experience this at least once in their careers.
Dental hygienists build some of the longest and most consistent relationships with patients. Recare appointments every three, four, or six months allow us to see patients more frequently than many other health-care providers. With every year of practice, these relationships deepen. You experience more loss, but the repeated exposure does not make it easier.
Dental hygiene is relational care
Research has shown that dental professionals, including dental hygienists, experience emotional strain related to long-term patient care and repeated exposure to tension, which can grow the emotional responses over time.1
One of the most difficult experiences I had as a dental hygienist was losing a patient whose family still comes to see me. I continue to care for the spouse and some other relatives, and each visit brings some memories of the person who is no longer with us. They remind me that being a dental hygienist is not just preventive care, it’s relational care.
In a busy clinical setting, there is often unspoken expectation that we should quickly return to the schedule. Instruments are turned over, the room is reset, the next patient called in, the day continues. The loss is barely discussed, and we feel the weight. Over time, those memories accumulate.
Compassion fatigue
Studies in dental literature suggest that repeated emotional suppression in clinical setting can cause compassion fatigue and burnout, especially among professionals who maintain long-term patient relationships.2
Feeling affected by the death of a patient does not mean that the boundaries were crossed; it means that the work was done with care and consistency. However, the challenge becomes balancing professionalism with emotions. Some hygienists cope by taking a brief break between patients. Others find comfort by sharing the loss with one of their colleagues. What matters most is knowing that those emotions and reactions are normal; ignoring them does not make them disappear.
Lasting relationships in dental hygiene
As dental hygienists, we often measure success by clinical outcomes, like reduced inflammation, improved home care, and stable periodontal health. But some of the most lasting impressions come from the relationships and trust we build over time.
Each patient who we provide care for leaves a small impact on our professional lives. They shape how we listen, how we educate, and how we care for the next patient in the chair, especially those we lose. Acknowledging this strengthens our understanding of what it truly means to care.
Patient death is not discussed very often in dental hygiene, but many hygienists carry those experiences over their career. The longer we practice, the more meaningful and more emotional our work becomes.
Recognizing the impact of patient loss allows us to care not only for those who sit in the chair, but also for ourselves and our colleagues. With this, we honor the patients who trusted us with their care, one after another.
References
- Knutt A, Boyd LD, Adams JL, Vineyard J. Compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and burnout among dental hygienists in the United States. J Dent Hyg. 2022;96(1):34-42.
- Brooks J, Giblin-Scanlon L, Boyd LD, Vineyard J. Compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, burnout and alcohol use among dental hygienists. Alcohol Alcohol. 2022:agac036. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agac036.
