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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has placed a significant psychological burden on the healthcare personnel. Dental academics play a crucial role in the promotion of public oral health and the education of dental students., Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess COVID-19-related concerns, stress and behavior changes in Iranian dental academics, determine the associated factors, and assess the potential gender differences., Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we shared a researcher-developed questionnaire with Iranian dental academics through social media and e-mail. The questionnaire contained 4 sections: Background (8 items and additional 6 knowledge questions); Concerns (18 items); Stress (based on the 15-item Impact of Event Scale (IES)); and Behavior Change (5 items). We divided the concerns by means of the principal component analysis (PCA) into 3 various components of the fear of infection, concerns over professional responsibilities and concerns over restrictions. The backward stepwise multilevel linear and logistic regression analyses served to discover the association of other factors with stress and behavior changes., Results: Out of 274 respondents, 66% were female, and 78% were 45 years old or younger. Approximately half of the respondents demonstrated moderate to severe stress and the median (Me) for behavior change was 46.5 out of 50. The greatest concern expressed by the participants referred to the fear of becoming infected by their patients and spreading the virus to their loved ones. Being female, living with parents and not having any administrative role, along with greater fear of infection, concerns over restrictions and academic experience were associated with higher levels of COVID-19-related stress. Being female and having an administrative role, along with greater fear of infection and knowledge, and more daily patient visits were associated with desirable COVID-19-related behavior changes., Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected dental academics' psychological state, leading to various levels of concern, stress and behavior change. Supportive and educational programs must target those with high fear and stress levels to prevent undesirable behaviors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immediate and dramatic impact on dental education. The Association of Dental Education in Europe decided to carry out an investigation to assess the immediate response of European Academic Dental Institutions. An online survey was sent to both member and non-member dental schools to investigate the impact on non-clinical and clinical education, assessment and the well-being/pastoral care measures implemented. The preliminary findings and discussion are presented in this paper, for the responses collected between the 25 March and 5 April 2020. The survey at this time of publication is ongoing, and detailed results can be accessed https://adee.org/covid-19-european-dental-education%E2%80%99s-immediate-response., (© 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Dental Education published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)