Views and anxiety levels of Turkish dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become an important public health problem that may have negative effects on psychological health. This study aims to evaluate the views and anxiety levels of dental students during COVID-19.

Material and methods
A questionnaire consisting of COVID-19 and online education views was filled by the students of a dental faculty. For the determination of the anxiety levels, the participants completed Turkish versions of the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) scales. The data was analyzed using descriptive analysis and parametric statistical tests. P < 0.05 was accepted as significant.

Results
A total of 249 dental students (154 females, 95 males), including 143 preclinical and 106 clinical students participated in the survey. Most students (81.1%) stated that they were concerned that the classes would be held in groups, with the transition to face-to-face education. Most of the participants (69.9%) stated that the idea of late graduation creates fear. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately a quarter of the students have the idea of changing professions. The continuity anxiety value of the group with the idea of changing the profession was statistically higher than the other groups (p < 0.05).

Conclusions
The results of our study indicated that dental students in our study were anxious about COVID-19. Our results emphasize the need to create psychological support programs for dental students during and after the pandemic.