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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · European Journal of General Dentistry 2021; 10(03): 129-134
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1736377
Original Article

Fear and Perception of People to Visit Dentists during COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Suggestions

Muhammad Mansoor Majeed
1   Department of Oral Biology, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi, Pakistan
,
Zarah Sidiqqui
2   Department of Prosthodontics, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
,
Muhammad Uzair
3   Department of Orthodontics, Baqai Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan
,
Azam Shahzad
4   Department of Dental Materials, Shahida Islam Dental College, Lodhran, Pakistan
,
Sara Rafique
5   Department of Physiology, Jinnah Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan
,
Shoaib Durrani
6   Durrani Dental Surgery, Pakistan Dental Association (Karachi Chapter), Karachi, Pakistan
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Abstract

Objectives This study was performed to determine patients' fear and perception of visiting dentists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and Methods This cross-sectional study was performed online using Google forms. Participants included individuals who had been to dental clinics for treatment. The data of 407 participants were analyzed. SPSS 21 was used for data entry and analysis. Demographic variables were expressed in numbers and percentages. The Chi-squared test was applied to analyze the difference between the demographic variables and fear among genders, age, and level of education.

Results Due to the coronavirus's contagious nature, fear is prevalent among a significant number of patients (χ2 = 31.373, p < 0.001). Females are more afraid to visit the dentist than males (χ2 = 7.065, p = 0.008). The majority of the patients are not willing to go for dental treatment other than an emergency. Around two-thirds of the participants reported that their visit to the dentist during the current pandemic was reduced.

Conclusion Due to the fear of COVID-19, patients are not willing to visit dentists for treatments. Therefore, dentists should build confidence by ensuring cross-infection control.

Keywords

COVID-19 - patients - fear - anxiety - dentists

Authors' Contributions

M.M. was the principal investigator, conceived the study, supervised the project, and is responsible for the integrity of the research. Comprehensively contributed to data collection, statistical work, writing of the manuscript, critical revision, and approval of the final draft. S.Z. contributed to initial draft writing, literature search, data collection, and final approval of the manuscript. U.M. contributed to study design, data collection, critical revision, and final approval of the manuscript. S.A. contributed to data collection, write-up, and approval of the final draft. R.S. contributed to write-up, statistics, tables, and figures, and final approval of the manuscript. D.S. contributed to write-up, statistical analysis, critical revision, and final approval of the manuscript.




Publication History

Article published online:
25 October 2021

© 2021. European Journal of General Dentistry. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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