Stress assessment awareness among practitioners during dental procedures: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Aim: Patient anxiety during dental procedures impacts oral health and well-being. Dental practitioners are vital in managing this stress. Our study aims to explore, analyze, and draw comparisons regarding the understanding and awareness levels of stress and anxiety assessment during routine dental procedures among general dental practitioners and specialists. Method: A self-administered questionnaire was sent to 503 Indian dental practitioners, encompassing both general dentists and specialists. Comprising 13 sections, the questionnaire covered demographic information and delved into topics such as dental anxiety assessment tools, familiarity with stress-reducing techniques, and awareness of the impact of anxiety on treatment outcomes. Following this, data analysis was performed using SPSS software, employing a range of descriptive and inferential statistics, including the Chi-square test. Results: Significant knowledge disparities were observed. While 78.3% of specialists assessed patient stress, only 75% of general dentists did, with no statistical difference (p=0.386). Both groups recognized the impact of gender dynamics and environmental factors on stress, but these findings lacked significant differences (p=0.314, p=0.40, p=0.86). However, specialists showed significantly more awareness of the link between stress and periodontal disease (p=0.043), genetics' role in stress (p=0.008), and the implications of epigenetics for stress and oral health (p=0.000). Conclusion: This study highlights a noticeable knowledge gap between general dentists and specialists in assessing patient stress during dental procedures. While both groups share similar views on gender dynamics and environmental factors, significant differences exist in their awareness of connections between stress, periodontal disease, genetics, and epigenetics. Targeted educational efforts are necessary to bridge this knowledge gap, improve patient care, and advance dental medicine