Depression, Anxiety and Stress Among Dentists During COVID-19 Lockdown

Introduction: The objective of this study was to investigate the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among dentists during covid-19 lockdown and to investigate the relationship between stress and each mental health state. Methods: A cross-sectional survey on 269 dentists was conducted using DASS-21 and PHQ-9 questionnaires. Bivariate and multivariate models were constructed and the odds ratio (OR) was calculated to assess the strength of the association between an independent categorical variable and the outcome. Results and Discussion: Being unsatisfied with the job was associated with a statistically significant increase in DASS-21 score by an average of 5.9 points after adjusting for the possible confounding effect of the other independent variables included in the model. For each extra 10 years of clinical experience, there is a statistically significant reduction in DASS-21 score by an average of 1.3 points compared after adjusting for the possible confounding effect of the other independent variables included in the model. Conclusion: Stress, depression, and anxiety were prevalent during the pandemic among dentists. These psychological domains were modulated by several factors including marital status, gender, years of clinical experience, and degree of job satisfaction.