Mental Status of Dental Students during Lockdown Due to Covid-19 Pandemic - A Cross Sectional Study in Western Maharashtra

BACKGROUND Since the World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) a pandemic, it has become a major challenge to public health all around the world. The situation is physically as well as mentally challenging for dental practitioners, teaching faculty, and dental students. We wanted to determine the stress among dental students due to the lockdown. This will aid us in determining the amendments to be made to help students manage the stress in such a critical situation the world is facing. METHODS This is a cross-sectional quantitative study done using a voluntarily filled online questionnaire. The survey was conducted on undergraduate dental students of School of Dental Sciences, Karad. Third and final year students were included in the study as they are more into clinical practice. Out of 163 students, 118 students responded to the questionnaire. RESULTS 93 % of the total respondents reported that the period of lockdown will have an impact on the mental wellbeing of the students. Stress due to loss of academic year, patients missing appointments, dentist’s being at high risk was found to be 97 %, 75 %, 89.8 % respectively. CONCLUSIONS A significant number of dental students had disturbed mental wellbeing during the period of lockdown. Supporting the mental health of all health care workers must be a critical part of the public health response, and special efforts should be directed to vulnerable sectors. KEY WORDS Mental Status, Students, Covid-19, Epidemic