The Impact of COVID-19 on Dental Anesthesiologists: An Online Survey of Board-Certified Dental Anesthesiology Specialists of the Japanese Dental Society of Anesthesiology

Abstract

Objective The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental anesthesiologists has not been examined. This study aimed to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected Japanese dental anesthesiologists’ professional lives. Methods An online questionnaire related to the effects of COVID-19 on dental anesthesiologists’ professional lives was emailed to 351 board-certified dental anesthesiology specialists from the Japanese Dental Society of Anesthesiology. The endpoints of this study were changes in income and job satisfaction as a dental anesthesiologist from 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results A total of 141 dental anesthesiologists participated in the survey. Most respondents reported no change in income relative to 2019 for 2020 or 2021. Significantly more dental anesthesiologists reported income decreases relative to 2019 for 2020 (39%) vs 2021 (21.3%; P = .001). Very few dental anesthesiologists reported income increases relative to 2019 for 2020 (2.1%) vs 2021 (15.6%; P < .001). Job satisfaction as a dental anesthesiologist remained unchanged for all 3 years. Conclusion Even though many Japanese dental anesthesiologist specialists lost income because of COVID-19, they maintained their job satisfaction.