Mental Health of Dentists during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Critical Literature Review

Abstract

Objective of this critical literature review was to analyze and systematize the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of dental specialists. This bibliographic search was carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases, using the following search keywords ―Psychiatry OR anxiety OR fear OR depression OR psychological distress OR mental health‖ AND ―COVID-19 OR SARS-CoV-2‖ AND ―Dentists OR dental practice. Original research publications that included data on dentists' mental health status during the COVID-19 pandemic were included. Data were grouped, tabulated and rearranged in Microsoft Excel 2016 for Windows and descriptively presented. Eleven publications were eligible for this review. All studies characterized with a cross-sectional design. Most of them used questionnaires created by study researchers (81.8%) and were carried out in Italy (45.5%). The number of participants ranged from 14 to 1,500. Effects on dentists' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic were observed regarding fear of contamination, anxiety, concerns, stress, depression, job insecurity, subjective overload, perceived risk and feelings, and emotions. The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on dentists' mental health, with a high prevalence of fear, anxiety, and concern, among other psychological symptoms.