Dentists and dental hygienists who worked on early Covid-19 frontlines report higher symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Between June 2020 and June 2021, 17.7% of dental health care workers reported anxiety symptoms, 10.7% reported depression symptoms, and 8.3% reported symptoms of both.
The one-year study – which was conducted from June 2020 to June 2021 – included 8,902 dental health care workers. They participated in an anonymous longitudinal, web-based survey every month.
Findings showed that dental hygienists reported higher rates of depression symptoms than dentists. Symptoms of depression rates peaked in December 2020.
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Covid-19 impact
Dental hygienists’ depression rates dropped in 2021, however, while dentists’ rates of depression symptoms remained steady. At the end of the study, both groups had similar rates — 11.8% for dentists and 12.4% for hygienists.
Study author Stacey Dershewitz said: ‘Dental health care workers reported lower rates of anxiety and depression symptoms than the general public. Despite being on the front lines and providing oral health care during the pandemic.’
Findings also showed that some participants’ anxiety symptoms fell after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine. It also found that unvaccinated dental health care workers who intended to be vaccinated suffered significantly more anxiety symptoms (20.6%) compared to fully-vaccinated dental health care workers (14.1%).
The study was published in the The Journal of the American Dental Association. It is part of ongoing collaborative research efforts between the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Dental Hygienists’ Associations (ADHA) to understand Covid-19’s impact on dental healthcare workers.
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