Prevalence of Anxiety amongst Interns while Performing Treatments in Dental Colleges of Navi Mumbai: A Cross-sectional Survey

Introduction: Anxiety is one of the most commonly experienced disorders across gender and all ages. Dental anxiety seen in patients prior to or during treatment is a well-researched topic. However, anxiety experienced by interns while treating patients in the dental college is a lesser explored side of the same coin.

Aim: To evaluate and understand the prevalence of anxiety experienced by dental interns while performing treatments in a college clinical set-up and studies the various factors precipitating anxiety.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using google forms, amongst interns of five dental colleges in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, from July 2021 to October 2021. A sample size of 350 was derived by convenient sampling method. The parameters assessed via questionnaire through a Likert-type response scale included various factors precipitating anxiety amongst interns such as performing invasive dental treatments, lack of in-depth knowledge of procedures, age, attitude and medical conditions of patients, encountering complications while treating patients, presence of supervision and working with anxious peers. Chi-square test was performed to analyse collected data, extract results and draw a conclusion.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 23±2 years. A total of 350 participants, out of which 332 showed symptoms of anxiety while treating patients in clinics. No significant gender predilection was noted for anxiety (p=0.544). Factors precipitating anxiety included performing invasive dental treatments (p=0.0004), lack of in-depth knowledge of certain procedures (p=0.020), patient’s attitude (p=0.017), treating patients with certain medical conditions (p=0.035) as well as encountering complications while treating patients (p=0.022). A significant number of participants thought that anxiety leads to more procedural errors (p=0.010). The need to incorporate anxiety management in the dental curriculum was observed (p=0.023).

Conclusion: The results of the present study showed prevalence of anxiety amongst dental students and highlighted the need to incorporate anxiety management programmes in the curriculum. Preparing interns to cope with anxiety resulting from treating patients seems to be of importance for their future clinical practice.