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Evaluation of the dental anxiety levels of patients applying to the faculty of dentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aim: The purpose of this study is to determine the levels of dental anxiety in patients who applied to the Necmettin Erbakan University Faculty of Dentistry during the COVID-19 outbreak and to evaluate the relationships of their anxiety levels to age, gender, education level, and the frequency of visits to dentists. 
Methodology: There were 320 participants, including 163 females (50.9%) and 157 males (49.1%), aged from 18 to 65 years or older, who had applied to the Necmettin Erbakan University Faculty of Dentistry. The Corah Dental Anxiety Scale (CDAS) was used to determine the levels of dental anxiety (non-anxiety, little anxiety, anxiety, over anxiety, and excessive anxiety) and the anxiety groups (low or high). Descriptive statistics were presented in percentages. Data were analyzed using t-tests and one-way ANOVA and chi-square tests, at a significance level of p = 0.05. 
Results: Among the participants, 38.1% were at the non-anxiety level, 44.1% had very little anxiety, 10.9% had anxiety, 5% had over anxiety, and 1.9% had excessive anxiety. With regard to the anxiety groups, 82.5% were in the low anxiety group, and 17.5% were in the high anxiety group. Age, education level, and frequency of visiting the dentist were not found to have any effects on dental anxiety (p > 0.05). However, the effect of gender with regard to dental anxiety was significant (p < 0.05), as females had higher dental anxiety levels than males. 
Conclusion: While the effect of gender was found to be important in terms of dental anxiety, age, educational status, and the frequency of visiting the dentist did not have significant effects on dental anxiety. Females had higher dental anxiety scores and levels than males. 
  
How to cite this article: Tunçdemir AR, Büyükerkmen EB, Savaş A. Evaluation of the dental anxiety levels of patients applying to the faculty of dentistry during the Covıd-19 pandemic. Int Dent Res 2021;11(Suppl.1):238-244. 
https://doi.org/10.5577/intdentres.2021.vol11.suppl1.35 
  
Linguistic Revision: The English in this manuscript has been checked by at least two professional editors, both native speakers of English.