DOI: 10.36347/sjds.2020.v07i08.002

Pages: 103-108

Background: The students all around the world are suffering a major impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on their course studies. This stress and associated fears in turn have affected their mental health. This study was done with an aim to evaluate the effect of digital education model used during COVID-19 lockdown on the professional learning and mental health of undergraduate dental students of India. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire including 31 items was designed and circulated to undergraduate dental students in different parts of the country through different dental forums and groups. All the participants submitted their response through the link for questionnaire generated in Google forms. Two separate sections of the questionnaire evaluated impact of nationwide lockdown on professional learning and its effects on mental health of students. Results were analysed through descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 232 students responded to the questionnaire. Most of the participants felt that COVID-19 lockdown is impacting their professional learning in a great way. Majority of them are suffering from the fears regarding their examinations, clinical practice and dentistry as a future career. All these fears are impacting their mental health as reflected in the changes in their daily routine. Conclusion: COVID-19 lockdown is having a massive impact on the professional learning of undergraduate dental students in India. As most of students are facing a deterioration in their mental health due to their fears, there is a dire need of advocation of psychological counselling to students.