ORIGINAL ARTICLE   Free

Minerva Dental and Oral Science 2021 February;70(1):32-43

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Psychological reactions to COVID-19 and epidemiological aspects of dental practitioners during lockdown in Italy

Pierantonio BELLINI ¹, Vittorio CHECCHI ¹ ✉, Cristina IANI ², Davide BENCIVENNI ¹, Ugo CONSOLO ¹

¹ Unit of Dentistry and Oral Maxillo-Facial Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences with Transplant Surgery, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine Relevance, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy; ² Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences with Transplant Surgery, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine, Relevance-Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

BACKGROUND: Due to droplet production and exposure to saliva and blood, dental practitioners are at high risk of COVID-19 contagion during their routine procedures. The aim of this study was to investigate the behavior of Italian dentists and to analyze their reactions in relation to Sars-CoV-2 pandemic professional restrictive measures.
METHODS: An online structured survey composed of 40 questions has been sent to dental practitioners all over Italy to investigate their behavior and to analyze their reactions in relation to Sars-CoV-2 pandemic restrictive measures introduced by the Italian national administrative order of 10 March 2020 (DM-10M20).
RESULTS: 1109 dentists replied. To assess concerns and psychological responses the sample was divided into two groups based on the number of cases registered in their work area. In the first group were included all the responders working in the Italian regions that had more than 15,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of April 29, 2020. The second group included responders working in the Italian regions that had less than 15,000 confirmed cases. The 45.2% of the respondents showed minimal anxiety, 34.5% showed mild anxiety, 13.9% showed moderate anxiety, while 6.4% showed a score indicative of a severe level of anxiety.
CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19-related emergency condition had a highly negative impact on dental practices in Italy. Those who completed the survey reported practice closure or reduction during the lockdown, and a high level of concern about the professional future for all dental practitioners. Concerns related to professional activity were accompanied by severe anxiety levels.

KEY WORDS: COVID-19; Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2; Epidemiology; Anxiety; Surveys and questionnaires