Evaluation of anxiety levels among dentists working during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: To use the “state and trait anxiety scale” to examine the anxiety levels among dentists caring for patients during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, and compare it to the levels observed in the pre-pandemic period.
Methods: This study included 500 dentists working during and before the COVID-19 pandemic, and participants were asked to complete a questionnaire form containing 40 questions using Google Forms. A score ranging between 1/−1 and 4/−4 was assigned to each question based on whether it was a positive or negative characteristic, and a constant of 50 was added to the total score. A higher anxiety score indicated an increase in the anxiety levels of the individual.
Results: A statistically significant difference in state-trait anxiety inventory scores was observed between men and women (p< 0.001). The state anxiety scale scores were seen to decrease with increasing age (p< 0.001). No statistically significant differences in trait anxiety scale scores were observed
between institutions, although dentists working in public hospitals exhibited higher state anxiety scale scores (p< 0.05). Dentists with 1–4 years of experience had the highest trait anxiety scale scores, while those with >= 10 years of experience demonstrated lower state anxiety scale scores (p< 0.05).
Conclusion: The levels of anxiety among dentists were seen to increase after the COVID-19 pandemic.