The Effect of Fear of COVID-19 on Dental Anxiety Levels

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Dental anxiety can be adversely affected by pandemics like corona virus. Most patients have preferred to defer their dental appointments and that patients generally neglect their health in epidemics. The investigation was carried out to determine the effect of the current coronavirus pandemic on dental anxiety by comparing through and post 1st wave of pandemic dental anxiety scores. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the Pakistani population using online surveys from June to August 2020. A total of 681 participants were recruited. Standardized and validated questionnaires were used to measure dental anxiety scores during and after the 2nd wave of pandemic. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 22. Independent t-test was used to compare dental anxiety scores through and after the 2nd wave of COVID-19. Fear of COVID-19 among the participants was also evaluated. RESULTS: From a total of 681 participants, 668 responses were retained in accordance to the inclusion criteria. A statistically significant difference was obtained regarding the dental anxiety levels during and after the 2nd wave of COVID-19 (p value =0.001). However, there was no significant difference between fear of COVID-19 scale and dental anxiety scores during COVID-19 (p value = 0.284). CONCLUSION: The coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated an adverse effect on patient dental anxiety scores. We also noted that the majority of the people were not willing to attend their dental appointment during this pandemic. KEYWORDS: COVID-19, coronavirus infection, dental anxiety, fear.