The impact of covid-19 pandemic on dental practitioner.

Abstract

Introduction: The coronavirus has so far been spread all over the world and hin-dered all aspects of person's life. This pandemic has adversely affected the profes-sional life as well.
Objectives: To assess the impact of epidemic COVID-19 on dental practitioners.
Methodology: Dentist were invited to participate in the study through social media/email. 250 dentist who give consent were selected randomly to be included in the study. Participants were assured about anonymity of the personal information and informed consent taken. Data collected by using an online questionnaire and ana-lyze by using SPSS® version 22
Results: Majority (80%) dentists were facing financial constraint, 72% dentist agreed that reopening of clinics could result in transmission of virus. More than half of the dentist agreed that watching/listening news of COVID-19 is causing depression and anxiety. Nearly all the dentist revealed that they usually feel symptoms mimicking that of Covid-19.
Conclusion: Dentists due to the direct result of overwhelming fear, confusion and anxiety among dental staff, strengthened by the high perception of the risk of COVID- 19 contraction, had a significant reduction in dental clinical practice. The sudden decline in the number of dental procedures and the implementation of a new infection control protocol has caused financial problems for most dentists.

Keywords: COVID-19, Pandemic, dental practitioners.