Evaluation of Patients’ Anxiety about COVID-19 Infection through Dental Visits in Sari Dental School Clinic in 2021

Abstract

Introduction: Dental treatments have a high-risk nature due to the close relationship between the patient and direct exposure to saliva, blood, etc. Concerns about the transmission of COVID-19 infection have led to the formation of some form of patient fear. Therefore, considering the importance of mental health, the present study was designed to investigate the degree of anxiety in people with COVID-19 through dentistry.Material and Methods: In the present descriptive study, 384 questionnaires were randomly distributed among the patients of Sari Dental Clinic in the period of April to June 2021. After the necessary explanations and obtaining informed written consent, the questionnaires were completed by the clients. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS V.22 software and statistical tests. Values greater than 0.05 were also considered significant.Results: In this study, 29.2% were male and 68.8% were female, and corona-related anxiety was more common in women and married people. As they got older, they tended to respond to higher options like most of the time or always. The higher the level of education, the less noticeable the unnecessary visits to the dental clinic.Conclusion: People were more worried about transmitting the disease to those around them and this anxiety was more in women than men. Married people were also more anxious than single people. Anxiety was significantly higher in the unemployed than in the employed. There was a significant relationship between degree and level of anxiety and people with higher education levels showed more anxiety.