Fear and anxiety of COVID-19 in dental patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey in Turkey.

Abstract

The significant risk of cross-infection in dental practice has caused indecision among dental patients about whether to attend dental appointments. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant psychological impact on dental patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of and the associated factors for fear and anxiety among dental patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey consisting of 6 parts was conducted. The 6 parts were sociodemographic data, knowledge about COVID-19, information sources, the perception of COVID-19, the fear of COVID-19 scale (FCoV-19S), and the generalized anxiety disorder-7 scale (GAD-7). A total of 301 participants completed the survey. As many as 81% of the participants perceived COVID-19 as a serious disease, and 73% reported the fear of visiting their dental clinic due to the possibility of being infected with COVID-19. The participants' knowledge about COVID-19 was significantly correlated with gender, the educational status and the use of the Internet. There was a strong negative correlation between the participants' levels of knowledge and the FCoV-19S and GAD-7 scores. A significant positive correlation was observed between the FCoV-19S score and the GAD-7 score. In regression analysis, being female, perceiving COVID-19 as a serious disease, being afraid of going to the dentist, having a low knowledge score, and having a high GAD-7 score were the predictors of a high FCoV-19S score. This study determined that the COVID-19 pandemic had had significant psychological effects on dental patients in Turkey. The results also underline the importance of providing more educational information to the public about the strict infection control measures taken by dental clinics against COVID-19 transmission in order to eliminate misperception.