Assessment of the Lifestyle Changes Experienced by Dental Professionals before and during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Comparative Pilot Study

Abstract

Aim: This pilot study was conducted to assess the impact caused to dental professionals of Tamil Nadu before and during the lockdown period toward lifestyle, psychological, and financial aspects. Materials and methods: An online cross-sectional survey among the dental practitioners of Tamil Nadu was done using Google Form for 2 weeks from 1st to 3rd week of June 2020. Totally 26 questionnaire comprising about routine activities, family time, work related, psychological, and financial aspect were asked and their responses in relation to before and during the lockdown period were obtained. Snowball sampling technique was used to collect the data. The obtained results were statistically analyzed using Chi-square and McNemar tests with a significance level of 95% (p < 0.05). Results: Prolonged lockdown has resulted in a delay in wake-up time (44.7%), more indoor activities (60%), and improved bonding with family (64.4%). Financially, most of them (62%) relied on previous savings during the lockdown period and 41.3% were confident about meeting their financial needs after lockdown. Majority of them (59.4%) did not expect support from government as they were self-confident about their practice. About 66.3% used this lockdown period to develop new hobbies such as cooking, painting, yoga, and meditation. Conclusion: COVID-19 has impacted dental professionals substantially. The effects caused by COVID-19 were not confined only to their professional life but also influenced them personally and psychologically. This pilot study gives an insight about how COVID-19 has changed the lifestyle of dentists in Tamil Nadu before and during lockdown. Clinical significance: The impacts caused due to lifestyle changes of dentists in Tamil Nadu have been discussed in this pilot study. The results of this study was useful to predict and propose the lifestyle changes experienced by dentists before and during the lockdown period. Majority of the dentists were ready to continue the positive habits developed during the lockdown. Hence, it is important to publish these results to understand the psychosocial well-being of the dentists in such situations.