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. 2024 Mar 21:15:1307776.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1307776. eCollection 2024.

Influence of experiencing SARS-CoV-2 infection on anxiety levels in Chinese patients undergoing third molar surgery

Junfei Zhu #  1 , Wenjing Li #  1 , Fang Wei  1 , Dan Zhang  1 , Meng Wang  1 , Huiyun Zhang  1 , Ye Zhang  1
Affiliations

Influence of experiencing SARS-CoV-2 infection on anxiety levels in Chinese patients undergoing third molar surgery

Junfei Zhu et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Background: In China, most of the citizens experienced SARS-CoV-2 infection since the end of 2022. The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected people's physical health and also had a significant impact on mental well-being. The present study aims to discover if the experience of SARS-CoV-2 infection influences patients' anxiety toward third molar surgery in the Chinese population.

Materials and methods: The present study took the form of a questionnaire survey. From January 1, 2023, to June 30, 2023, patients who went to the Stomatology Center of China-Japan Friendship Hospital (Beijing, China) for the third molar extraction were included according to the inclusion criteria. The information on COVID-19 infection and the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) was collected. The software SPSS 22.0 was used for the statistical analyses.

Results: A total of 574 survey results were harvested in the present study. The infection rate of COVID-19 was 86.6% (p > 0.05). The Average MDAS scores between patients who had been infected with COVID-19 and patients who were never infected were not significantly different (11.65 ± 4.41 vs. 11.42 ± 4.41, p > 0.05). The subgroup analysis was conducted according to the length of time after the recovery of COVID-19 (Model 1), and the highest temperature during the infection (Model 2). In Model 1 and Model 2, the one-way ANOVA test did not find statistical significance between the groups (Model 1 p = 0.114; Model 2 p = 0.481). The MDAS scores in female patients were significantly higher than in male patients (12.29 ± 4.53 vs. 9.91 ± 3.80, p < 0.001). Patients who extracted double teeth got significantly higher MDAS scores than those who extracted single teeth before the surgery (12.03 ± 4.74 vs. 11.24 ± 4.18, p = 0.037).

Conclusion: The present study did not establish a significant impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the anxiety levels associated with third molar surgery among Chinese patients. The potential long-term biopsychological effects of the virus warrant further investigation.

Keywords: COVID-19; MDAS questionnaire; anxiety; dental fear; third molar.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The infection rate of COVID-19 (A) and the Average MDAS scores of patients who had been infected with COVID-19 and who were never infected (B).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The comparison of the average MDAS scores between the groups of Model 1.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The comparison of the average MDAS scores between the groups of Model 2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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