Psychological Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic in Dental Healthcare Workers

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the mental health status of Dental Health Care Workers (DHCWs) in a dental emergency university clinic treating urgent patients during the pandemic. Materials and Methods: A hundred fifteen participants were selected from DHCWs who actively worked during the pandemic in a Dental Emergency Clinic of a university. Depression, anxiety and stress levels of participants were measured with the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale and their insomnia levels were assessed with the Insomnia Severity Index. Correlations between independent continuous and dependent variables tested with Spearman test. Mann-Whitney U and KruskalWallis tests were used used to evaluate possible effects of independent variables. The psychological data of the aerosol-generating treatment group were compared to the rest of the participants using Mann-Whitney U tests. In all tests alpha=0.05 significance level was set. Results: The rates of DHCWs scored above the cut-off points were 54% for depression, 40% for anxiety, 36% for stress and 40% for insomnia. Feeling negative emotions before the pandemic significantly interacted with all psychometric measurements. Younger age, feeling anxious about changing working conditions and/or obtaining personal protective equipment was correlated positively with stress points (p=0.035, p=0.008, p=0.007, respectively). A significant percentage of DHCWs presented high scores on depression, anxiety, stress and insomnia in this study. Conclusion: The authorities and healthcare executives must show programmed leadership and support for DHCWs during the COVID-19 outbreak. The integration of programs developed to mitigate stress among DHCWs recommended during the COVID-19 pandemic.