| Denial
of Disability ... A Dentist’s Worst Nightmare
Los
Angeles Doctor of DENTISTRY March-April 2006
By Art Fries
Over the past
10 years, I have provided advice to dentists, surgeons,
chiropractors and other professionals in connection with
their disability claims. Lots of these claims involve
repetitive movements, doing the same procedures day in
and day out with little time to rest.
When machines wear out we replace them or replace the
part. Often it’s too expensive to replace the part,
so we get another machine. But what about when parts of
a dentist “wear out?” As one who has been
on disability claim, I understand how “denial”
plays an important role in deciding when and if to go
on disability.
The following are direct quotes from narratives that my
dental clients have provided to their insurance companies
in connection with a partial or total disability claim.
These narratives go well beyond claim forms to give an
insurance company a clear understanding how my clients
feel. Have you had similar experiences and feelings?
“Several times I had to leave the operatory during
the procedure to lie down in my private office because
I knew I could not perform the procedure adequately. I
could take deep breaths and tell myself, ‘It’s
OK, you can get through this.’ But I could tell
something was definitely wrong with me. I went into the
restroom and cried, wondering what was going on with me.
A simple task was now becoming and impossible chore for
me to perform.”
“My symptoms included neck pain, right arm, and
shoulder pain, numbness, dizziness, inability to concentrate,
headaches and loss of fine tactile touch. I missed hundreds
of hours from work seeing M.D.s, physical therapists,
chiropractors and massage therapists. I was destined to
live with pain levels of between 5 and 10 on a 10 scale.
I could not take prescription medications for pain and
see patients. Nonprescription medications ruined by GI
tract.”
“ I woke up two or three times a night with recurring
nightmares about traumatizing patients. These fearful
thoughts and the indecision and frustration about having
to stop my life’s work (coupled with the pain and
loss of performance) have increased my irritability and
depression. As a result, I have withdrawn socially a great
deal and office and marital tensions have greatly increased.”
“I found myself snapping at staff members if they
said anything which aggravated me, and it seemed as if
everything was getting to me. I thought they could not
do anything right. When I got home it seemed that everything
my husband said to me would throw me into a rage. I’d
yell at him for no reason an then feel bad about it.”
“I realize I cannot continue to insult my deteriorated
spine banging up and down in a dental stool 80 to 110
times a day. My emotional state is a critical mess. I
am seeing a psychiatrist and I am taking anti-depression
medication, as I have harbored some self-destructive thoughts.”
“I am constantly dropping instruments, slipping
and having little accidents, like cutting a patient’s
cheek or tongue. The quality of my work is suffering tremendously.
I am no longer proud of the quality of my work. Just last
week I dropped a running high-speed handpiece in a patient’s
mouth. Luckily it landed with the burr pointing up. I
have recently dropped a sharp root canal instrument in
a patient’s eye. Luckily it didn’t stick.”
If you have medical symptoms, get medical advice. If these
symptoms continue to be a source of danger to yourself
or your patients, cut back your schedule or STOP PRACTICING
DENTISTRY.
Art Fries is
a disability claim consultant providing advice on a national
basis. He is located in Newport Beach, CA, and can be
reached at 1-800-567-1911 or www.afries.com.
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