The Awareness, Anxiety and Depression Levels of Dentists and Dentistry Patients Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: The new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which started in the late 2019 has had signiőcant effects on all areas, especially in the health sector. The purpose of this study was to investigate the awareness, anxiety and depression levels of dentists and dental patients regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials & Methods: This was an online survey study including 679 individuals at the ages of 12-60 consisting of dentists and dentistry patients (female, n=395; male, n=284). The participants were reached using social media tools such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The survey was consisted of 3 parts. The őrst part included a set of questions on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge level of the COVID-19 pandemic, attitudes and perceptions regarding infection control, and sterilization at dental clinics. The second and third parts consisted of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Depression Severity (PHQ-9) questionnaires examining psychological status in the pandemic period. The level of signiőcance was accepted as α=0.05. Results: While the rate of experiencing occupational future anxiety in the dentists was signiőcantly higher than that in the patients, the rate of making plans for the future in the patient group was signiőcantly higher in comparison to the dentists (p