Original Article
Evaluation of dentists' fear, anxiety, and work-life balance during the COVID-19 pandemic
View article page
Merve ÖnderORCID, Fatih DururORCID, Gamze KutluORCID, Yasemin AkbulutORCID, Kaan OrhanORCID
Cite
Önder M, Durur F, Kutlu G, Akbulut Y, Orhan K. Evaluation of dentists’ fear, anxiety, and work-life balance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Int Dent Res. 2026;16:e260537. https://doi.org/10.5577/intdentres.537
- eISSN
- 2146-1767
- Submitted
- 17 September 2026
- Revised
- 10 October 2026
- Accepted
- 31 October 2026
- Published
- 3 November 2026
- Pages
- e260537
Abstract
Aim: This study aimed to determine the fear and anxiety levels and work-life balance of postgraduate dental residents during the COVID-19 pandemic and to examine the relationships among these variables.
Methodology: This descriptive, cross-sectional study used a correlational design. The study included 188 of 348 postgraduate dental residents (54%) at five public universities in Ankara, Türkiye, who completed an online survey. Data were collected using the COVID-19 Fear Scale, the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale, and the Work-Life Balance Scale. Data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis H, one-way ANOVA, and Spearman correlation tests.
Results: The mean scores were 16.41 ± 5.21 for fear, 6.37 ± 2.33 for anxiety, and 37.26 ± 10.19 for work-life balance. Fear and anxiety levels were higher among female and younger dentists and among those who considered COVID-19 a serious disease. Fear levels were also higher among pedodontists, those who had received COVID-19 training, and those who found the work environment inadequate for disease prevention. Work-life balance levels were significantly lower among those who found the precautions insufficient and were weakly correlated with COVID-19 knowledge (r = 0.180) and the perception of COVID-19 as a serious disease (r = 0.164). No relationship was found between work-life balance and COVID-19-related fear and anxiety.
Conclusion: Fear and anxiety among postgraduate dental residents during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with sex, age, specialty, training, and perceived workplace adequacy, but not with work-life balance. Creating working conditions that reduce fear and anxiety and support work-life balance is therefore important. The results can be used to develop policies regulating the working conditions of dentists in the post-COVID period.
Keywords
License
© 2026 The Author(s). Published by International Dental Research.