>>Back in my early days as an actuary (late 80s), I learned that dentists had the second highest mental instutionalization rate (or attempted suicide rate - I forgot which one exactly) of all professions (air traffic controllers were in first place). Seriously.
>
>What do dentists really do? Their assistants do most of the job, how can a dentist get so stressed out?

Some have proposed that their exposure to to mercury via all the drilling in amalgam ('silver') fillings caused mental impairment.