Background: It is important to complement the scientific literature with the data regarding the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the social, work and health practices as well as on the daily life of dentists, and to promote adequate public policies.
Objectives: The aim of the study was to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the career plans of dentists in Colombia.
Material and methods: As part of global research on the impact of COVID-19 on dentistry, a crosssectional survey was administered via digital media to dentists in Colombia. The validated questionnaire included inquiries regarding sociodemographic variables, the perception of the risk of contagion with COVID-19 and the impact of COVID-19 on the dentists' career plans. The variables were summarized in absolute and relative frequencies, and a binomial logistic regression analysis was carried out to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on career plans according to the independent variables.
Results: A total of 5,370 dentists answered the survey (women: 3,878; median age: 45 years; response rate: 16.85%). Most of the dentists (96%) believed that COVID-19 infection was a risk for them and 81.96% reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had some impact on their career plans, including reducing working hours (77.96%), retiring early (26.54%) and changing their career away from dentistry (18.15%). The regression model showed that older adults (OR = 1.62; 95% CI: 1.16, 2.26), general practitioners (OR = 1.21; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.44), private practice owners (OR = 2.33; 95% CI: 1.94, 2.79), private practice associates (OR = 2.20; 95% CI: 1.84, 2.63), and those with 'very probable' risk perception (OR = 4.29; 95% CI: 1.35, 13.60) had a significantly greater chance of the pandemic having an impact on their future career plans.
Conclusions: The pandemic has had a great impact on dentists' career plans. Dentists who are most fearful of the risk of contagion, those who are older and those who have their private practice are thinking about reducing working hours, retiring early or changing their career.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; career choice; dentists; social perception.