In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, have you noted any quantifiable effect on your dental practice?
"Our practice experienced a six-week mourning period," said a dentist who responded "yes" to December JADA’s Question of the Month.
Overall, 56 percent of respondents said the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 had had a quantifiable effect on their practices. Several of these dentists said they noticed changes in their patients’ behavior, including wanting anthrax vaccinations, being "sad and edgy" and wanting to talk about the attacks, as well as an increase in clenching and broken teeth. "We began calling the increased ‘jaw pain’ we saw in September ‘CNN syndrome’ and counseled patients to turn off the 24-hour news reports," said one dentist. "Then we saw a wave of cusp fractures on posterior teeth through the end of October. Coincidence?"
About three-fourths of the dentists who answered "yes" said they saw a decrease in revenue and production after Sept. 11. "The bottom dropped out of my practice," said one. "September and October were down 50 percent compared with the other months in 2001."
"December was so slow it wasn’t even worth the effort to show up to work," said another.
Some also attributed these slowdowns to the weak economy. "Patients who are uncertain about the future of their jobs are somewhat reluctant to initiate large cases or extensive care," said one reader. "And those who have lost employment and benefits are not seeking dental care."
A handful of respondents said their practices have gone back to normal. "After Sept. 11, we did have a slowdown," said one. "Fortunately, things have picked up. In fact, production seems to be better."
Forty percent of respondents said they did not notice any quantifiable effects on their practices resulting from Sept. 11. A few, however, did mention they had cancellations for a few days afterwards, but then things got back to normal. "Initially, everyone seemed to be in shock, but within two to four weeks our practice returned to a very normal pace," one respondent wrote.
Many of those who noticed a slowdown in their practices attributed it to the downward trend in the economy. "Here in Michigan, the economic recession has affected my practice more than the Sept. 11 events," said a respondent.
"Production per day was quantitatively down starting in July 2001," said another.
Four percent of respondents said they did not know if the terrorist attacks had affected their practices. "Any decrease may be due to the ‘dot com’ decline here in California and then there could have been a delay in the economy recovering due to Sept. 11," said one reader.
