Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic on Dental Education: A Questionnaire Based Institutional Study

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 infection has impacted all walks of dentistry and dental educators, students are equally affected by the pandemic. An effort to recognize the students' problems could play a major role in determining the future policy and guidelines in the dental education sector. Methodology: An online survey of 25 close-ended questions including a four-point Likert scale was sent to dental undergraduate students of a Government Dental Institute that focused on their perception and impact of COVID-19 pandemic on their academic schedule that was undertaken during COVID-19 pandemic. Results: A total of 106 dental undergraduate students responded with a 72.1% response rate. Almost 90% of the respondents were attending all the classes using their own smart/mobile phones. 68.9% of all respondents felt traditional classroom learning was effective compared to 18.9% who felt both were equally effective. A four-point Likert scale with Cronbach's alpha of 1.19 for internal reliability between each question was used to assess the stress among the students. 40.6% students felt COVID-19 had affected the routine academic year and 37.7% of them were extremely afraid of acquiring COVID-19 if asked to join back college. Conclusion: Diverse themes pertaining to understanding the perception of an undergraduate dental student in these unprecedented times was noted in our study. There were apprehensions about extension of academic year, COVID-19 infection, restless sleep due to use of mobile phones and virtual online meeting app.

Keywords

• COVID-19, Dental education, Likert scale, stress.