COVID Curriculum Shift: Mental Health & Academic Success in Dentistry

Objectives: This study aims to assess the long-term impact of the COVID19 pandemic on U.S. dental schools' faculty and staff retention and its correlation to students' overall well-being and success since the official closure of the pandemic.
Methods: Current dental, hygiene, and specialized resident students at the University of
Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry were asked to complete a series of 11 survey questions sent out via email, social media, and student associations over two months. The survey included questions about university details, degree, age, and gender. Furthermore, the survey examined faculty turnover during the pandemic and its impact on physical and mental health, clinical competency, and education level. The questionnaire used a Likert numerical rating scale for responses.
Results: There were 76 participants; (67 dental, 4 dental hygiene, 5 residents); Surveys
reported that all sources of stress (instructor loss, lab closure, clinic closure, and taking online courses) were associated with the same median level of stress (median = 5 out of 10); Multiple linear regression showed that student classification did not significantly affect stress levels or overall feeling of readiness (p>0.05).
Conclusions: The results of this study did not show any difference in contribution to stress
between the different categories of stressors and did not show a difference in stress level based on student classification.