Prevalence of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Its Linkage with Emotional Disturbances in Dental Healthcare Professionals: A Cross-sectional Survey

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the incidence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and its associated emotional disturbances in dental healthcare workers in Jordan. Material and Methods: This study was based on a cross-sectional online survey. A total of 787 participants were included 354 (44%) were dentists (general practitioners and specialists) and 433 (56%) were dental supportive staff (dental assistants, dental hygienists, and dental technicians). The survey incorporated two instruments for a survey: Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Results: This study included 787 dental healthcare personnel of which 354 (44%) were dentists and 433 (56%) were dental supportive staff. The data revealed that emotional disturbances directly linked to OCD symptoms showed a significant positive correlation (p<0.001). Dental supportive staff showed higher scores on contamination-related obsessions than dentists. However, dentists experienced greater responsibility-related obsessions. Between dentists and dental supportive staff, there was no significant difference in anxiety based on their professional roles. Conclusions: The results of this study showed evidence of how anxiety creates OCD symptoms which appear most prominently in contamination-related obsessions among dental supportive staff and responsibility-related obsessions among dentists, thus requiring specific mental health treatment approaches. Furthermore, it was also observed that women with personal and family histories of psychiatric disorders were the most vulnerable to exacerbating the OCD symptoms and anxiety level among both dentist and dental supporting-staff members. Keywords: Dentists, Dental supportive staff, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Anxiety.