Frontline dental professionals more likely to experience depression and anxiety during the pandemic
Dental professionals who worked on the frontline during the early part of the pandemic were more likely to experience depression and anxiety than those who didn’t work on the frontline, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association.
The study, which was carried out over a 12-month period from June 2020 to June 2021, showed that 10.7% of dental workers had symptoms of depression and 17.7% had signs of anxiety. Over 8% of individuals had symptoms of both anxiety and depression.
Participants took part in anonymous, online surveys every month during the trial period. Symptoms of depression were most common in December 2020. The figures suggest that dental hygienists were more likely to have signs of depression than dentists.
Stacey Dershewitz, study author, explained that although anxiety and depression were more common among dental workers during the pandemic, they were lower than rates among the general population.
The study also revealed that anxiety levels decreased after participants had the Covid vaccine. Anxiety symptoms were more common in unvaccinated dental workers (20.6%) than those who had a jab (14.1%).
The findings of the study have been published in the Journal of the American Dental Association. The research is part of a collaborative project between the American Dental Association and the American Dental Hygienists’ Association.
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