Stress and anxiety among dental practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Dental professionals are at great risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to determine the levels of stress and anxiety among dental professionals, and to determine which dental procedures cause the greatest amount of stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was conducted by requesting voluntary participation of dental healthcare workers through the authors' own e-form, which consisted of our self-developed questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7). The simple and multiple linear regression analyses were used to assess the effect of dental procedures and other factors associated with stress and anxiety among the participants. A p-value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: This survey included 85 participants (32 males, 53 females) with a mean age of 31.6 ±6.0 years. Significant associations were found between severe stress for scaling (p < 0.001; p < 0.001), complex fillings (p < 0.001; p < 0.001), root canal treatment (RCT) (p = 0.001; p = 0.007), crown and bridge work (p < 0.001; p < 0.001), denture work (p = 0.034; p = 0.001), third molar extractions (p < 0.001; p < 0.001), surgical procedures (p < 0.001; p = 0.001), and implant placement (p = 0.001; p = 0.022) and the PSS and GAD-7 scores, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Dental healthcare workers exhibit severe stress and anxiety associated with elective dental procedures. Dental emergencies should take precedence and elective dental treatment should be carried out with utmost caution, ensuring all protective measures. Psychological support for dental healthcare professionals should be made accessible.

Predicting the bracket bond failure rate in orthodontic patients: A retrospective cohort study.

The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with orthodontic bracket bond failure and to develop a prediction equation for orthodontic bracket bond failure rate using the risk factors. This was a retrospective cohort study conducted on a sample of 690 brackets in orthodontic patients aged 10 to 28 years old (mean age 17.97±5.11 years old) visiting a dental hospital. The effect of various parameters of orthodontic bond strength was assessed on bracket failure rate using survival analysis. Parametric (exponential) regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors associated with bracket failure and a prediction equation was formulated to predict the bracket failure rate. The overall mean survival time for the brackets was 3.04 (2.9-3.17) years. The univariate analysis showed a statistically significant (P<0.05) association of bracket material, site, overjet, overbite, incisor and molar classification and age. The multivariate analysis showed a significant interaction between site and side along with bracket material, jaw, overjet and overbite in the model. The risk of bracket failure on the right posterior region is 7.7 times that in the right anterior region when adjusted for all other variables in the model (HR: 7.7; 95% CI: 4.3-13.6). The model including bracket material, jaw, overjet, overbite and interaction between site and side can be used as a predictor of hazard rate for orthodontic bracket failure. Care should be taken in bonding brackets in the posterior region, as their debonding rate is higher as compared to anterior region.

Chin Position: to treat or not to treat.

This study was conducted to compare the mean preference scores for orthodontic treatment need, considering the chin position, amongst orthodontists, orthodontic patients and their parents. Male and female profile silhouettes were prepared by changing their chin prominence using Adobe Photoshop 7 with zero degree meridian as line of reference. Rating of these silhouettes was done by the three groups of raters (orthodontists, orthodontic patients and their parents) on a scale of four with one being no need of treatment and four being severe need of treatment. There was a statistically significant difference seen amongst orthodontists and the orthodontic patients and also amongst the orthodontist and the orthodontic patient's parents for the 2mm and 4mm chin position with orthodontists scoring a higher need of treatment as compared to the patients and parents.

Nasolabial angle: a perception of treatment needs.

The nasolabial angle holds a very important position in the treatment planning process for an orthodontic case, especially in today's soft tissue paradigm. This study was therefore conducted to compare the mean preference scores for orthodontic treatment need considering the nasolabial angle among orthodontists, orthodontic patients and their parents.