Knowledge, stress levels, and clinical practice modifications of Turkish dentists due to COVID-19: a survey study

Abstract

Dentists are exposed to the highest risk of occupational respiratory and droplet infections by working face-to-face with patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge of symptoms and modes of transmission of COVID-19, stress levels and clinical practice modifications of Turkish dentists during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey (15 questions) was sent to Turkish dentists from May 5 to 12 May, 2020. The survey comprised questions about dentists' demographic characteristics, their knowledge about COVID-19, stress levels and the measures taken in dental clinics against COVID-19. This study included a total of 1,095 Turkish dentists. The data were expressed as frequency with percentage values for overall variables. Dentists were most familiar with high fever among the symptoms of COVID-19 (99.4%) and 99.2% of them reported that COVID-19 was transmitted with eye, mouth and nasal mucosa contact on surfaces contaminated with the droplets of infected persons. While the stress levels of females were higher than males, the stress levels of dentists with more than 20 years of professional experience were found to be lower. Regarding the precautions to be taken as a preventive measure when working again, 86.6% of the dentists took precautions by increasing daily patient care intervals and only 38.4% of the dentists wore an N95 mask. During this pandemic, knowing the conditions about when the treatments can be applied and the precautions to be taken will shed light on dentistry staff. Current recommendations of national authorities about the coronavirus should be followed.

Impact of COVID– 19 on the Psychological Health of Dental Professionals: A Systematic Review

“…The combination of all these factors, could have resulted in Italian dentists experiencing high psychological distress, than their counterparts in other countries (Armocida et al, 2020). It was ascertained by Gasparro et al (2020), Shetty et al (2020); Tysiąc-Miśta and Dziedzic (2020), Majeed et al (2021), Sarialioglu Gungor et al (2021, Mahdee et al (2020), Mekhemar et al (2021), that COVID -19 anxiety and depressive symptoms are more prevalent in females than in males. This finding is further supported in a study conducted by Wang et al (2020), where it was observed that females underwent a greater psychological impact from the COVID -19 outbreak than men, with higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.…”

“…An explanation for this, might be linked with the fact that females generally show considerably greater risks than males in developing depressive disorders, anxiety, stress, as well as PTSD during adulthood (Altemus, Sarvaiya, & Epperson, 2014). It was highlighted by Zhao et al (2020), Sarialioglu Gungor et al (2021, Mahdee et al (2020), andMekhemar et al (2021), that young staff reported of higher depressive symptoms than elderly staff. According to Mahdee et al (2020), older dentists reported less stress than younger dentists, as they may be more experienced in handling similar pandemic situations or emergencies, making them more confident and less prone to anxiety.…”

“…It was also found by Collin and Whitehead (2021), that psychological distress was attributed to feelings of betrayal, compounded by lost trust in leaders of the profession, and the lack of communication during the pandemic. Gasparro et al (2020), Shetty et al (2020), Tysiąc-Miśta and Dziedzic (2020), Majeed et al (2021), Sarialioglu Gungor et al (2021, Mahdee et al (2020), and Mekhemar et al (2021), found that female dentists seemed to be more concerned with COVID -19, and reported higher depressive symptoms than male dentists. In addition, Zhao et al (2020), Sarialioglu Gungor et al (2021, and Mahdee et al (2020), noted that young staff reported of higher depressive symptoms than elderly staff.…”

“…Gasparro et al (2020), Shetty et al (2020), Tysiąc-Miśta and Dziedzic (2020), Majeed et al (2021), Sarialioglu Gungor et al (2021, Mahdee et al (2020), and Mekhemar et al (2021), found that female dentists seemed to be more concerned with COVID -19, and reported higher depressive symptoms than male dentists. In addition, Zhao et al (2020), Sarialioglu Gungor et al (2021, and Mahdee et al (2020), noted that young staff reported of higher depressive symptoms than elderly staff. On the contrary, Sarapultseva, Zolotareva, Kritsky, Nasretdinova and Sarapultsev (2021), Shetty et al (2020), and Majeed et al (2021), noted that elderly staff exhibited greater levels of depression than young staff.…”

Attitudes and predictive factors of psychological distress and occupational burnout among dentists during COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey

“…Another study conducted during COVID-19 pandemic period showed that the dentists had the "extremely stress" from infecting their families (Sarialioglu et al, 2021). MBI and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) are two different scales specially adapted for those working in the healthcare sector and proved by validity and reliability tests to comply with Turkish culture.…”