- MEDIUM
- Clinical
- Tier 2
- Clinical & Visual
Mental Health Spotlight: Recognizing and Addressing Moral Injury in Dental Hygiene
- Source
- Today's RDH
- Author
- Kandice Swarthout, RDH, LPC
- Originally at
- todaysrdh.com(opens in a new tab)
Summary and scoring by The Bell Brief (Dr. Jennifer Bell) using the Drill-Down Protocol. Not the original publisher.
Why it matters for dental
Dental hygienists may experience moral injury when production or scheduling demands prevent care that aligns with their professional values; practice owners and DSOs should recognize the distinction from burnout to address root causes.
Key points
- 01
Brenton Guice, RDH, LPC, notes that hygienists lose connection with patients when appointment times are reduced to meet scheduling or production goals.
- 02
Moral injury arises from repeated inability to reconcile clinical judgment with administrative decisions on scheduling and treatment time.
- 03
Guice states the distress may feel like burnout, yet stems from conflicts between patient-centered care values and practice constraints.
- 04
Recognizing and naming the specific value violated can help clinicians separate moral injury from personal failure.
Who should care
- Staff
- Owner
- DSO
Read the original
Today's RDH
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