The global COVID-19 Pandemic combined with nationwide economic depression and public fear had caused
dental clinics in Malaysia to experience a significant reduction in patient visits with a potential impact on the
socio-economic and psychological status of Malaysian private dentists. This study assesses the socio-economic
and psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Malaysian private dentists. A cross-sectional online
questionnaire included demographic profile, socioeconomic factors and psychological status was used.
Participation was voluntary. Descriptive statistics on the three variables were generated. Pearson Chi-square
test was used to check for significant difference (p<0.05). In all, 95 private dentists voluntarily participated.
Male and female participants were equally represented, mostly in the 22-25 group (62%). The Job Insecurity
Scale measurement showed 58% and 48.5% participants respectively, were socio-economically and
psychologically affected. The Financial Threat Scale showed 44.4% of respondents were financially affected,
while 51% (measured by the General health questionnaire) displayed affected health. The socio-economicpsychological aspect was found to be statistically significant (p =0.018). Within the limitation of sample size,
participating private dentists were found to be socio-economically and psychologically affected by the COVID19 pandemic.