Mental Health of Canadian Dentists Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES

A growing body of literature highlights the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of health care professionals. This paper explores the effects of gender and work/life factors on dentists' mental health before and during the pandemic.

METHODS

Data were obtained from a cross-sectional, online survey of Canadian dentists, which was part of a broader study of Canadian professionals' mental health challenges conducted in 2020-2021. Using logistic regression, we compared the influence of life stress, work stress, gender and role in practice on dentists' self-rated mental health before and during the pandemic.

RESULTS

Respondents reported that their mental health had worsened during the pandemic. Among survey respondents (n = 397), women dentists (50%) reported worse mental health than men (39%). Those who had higher levels of work and life stress reported more mental health challenges both before and during the pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings point to the need for more attention to dentists' mental health and highlight the need for gender-sensitive mental health resources and supports for Canadian dentists.