Financial and Psychosocial Consequences of COVID-19 for Dentists in Cyprus: Policy Dimensions

In 2020, dentists were among the health professionals most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess its financial impact on dentists in Cyprus during 2020-2021, compare it with the 2012-2013 economic crisis, and examine associated psychosocial effects.

An anonymous 54-item questionnaire was emailed to all 1,157 registered dentists in Cyprus, according to the official registry of the Cyprus Dental Association, between April and May 2022. To enhance the response rate, two follow-up reminder emails were distributed at two-week intervals. It included sections on sociodemographics (six items), the pandemic's impact on the private sector (27 items), and the public sector (21 items). The instrument was adapted from the validated tool used in 2014 to assess the 2012-2013 economic crisis. Core items assessing patient volume, treatment mix, income changes, and professional stress were retained verbatim to ensure comparability, while COVID-19-specific items (e.g., infection-control protocols, pandemic-related closures) were added without altering the original constructs. The study received ethical approval, and informed consent was obtained.

Responses were received from 145 dentists (14.5% of all registered). Among private practitioners, 39.5% reported fewer patients in 2020 compared with 47.7% in 2012-2013, while the reduction in the public sector was far greater (88.5%, p < 0.001). Income loss was self-reported by 58.9% of private dentists in 2020, compared with 81.3% in the 2014 survey that used the same self-report format. Stress related to reduced income was noted by 62.2% of private dentists (23.5% moderately; 38.7% strongly/very strongly), similar to 71.3% in 2014. By contrast, only 19.2% of public dentists reported stress in 2020, versus 75% in 2014 (p < 0.001). Preventive visits were self-reported as a proportion of total visits and increased to 23.5% in 2020 (vs. 3.9% in 2014), despite an overall reduction in patient volume. By contrast, 95% of public-sector visits continued to be problem-driven.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a marked but uneven impact on dentists in Cyprus. Private dentists experienced significant income loss and stress, whereas salaried public dentists were largely protected. Although less severe than the 2012-2013 crisis, the findings underscore the profession's vulnerability to external shocks, with consequences for dentists' well-being and patient oral health.