Abstract

Introduction: Dentists have a high risk of infection with COVID-19 because they are in close contact with patients’ oral cavities and saliva.

Aim: This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge among dentists and dental students in Saudi Arabia about proper dental settings for treating patients during COVID-19.

Methods: A self-reporting questionnaire was used in this cross-sectional study with 137 participating dentists and dental students across Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire assessed participants’ knowledge using 15 multiple-choice questions regarding COVID-19 dental settings and sources of information about COVID-19. SPSS software and linear regression, ANOVA, and t-test were used to analyze the data, with the significance level set to a p-value of 0.05.

Results: A total of 25.50% of participants visited the Saudi Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Weqaya) website. Most (92%) got their information from medical or health professionals. Participants had a mean of 7.91 (standard deviation = 1.9) correct answers, with a range of 3 - 12 where the maximum knowledge score was 15. Only 5.10% were aware of the proper settings of negative pressure rooms and natural ventilation. Participants from the eastern region had significantly (p = 0.006) less knowledge than other regions. Knowledge increased significantly with age (p = 0.006) and years of practice (0.003).

Conclusion: Dentists and dental students in Saudi Arabia have acceptable levels of knowledge about COVID-19 dental settings. Nonetheless, more efforts should be directed to improving knowledge about COVID-19 dental settings through continuing education.

Keywords: COVID19; Dental Students; Dentists; Dental Setting

References

1. World Health Organization (WHO). Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV): situation report 11 (2020).
2. Wang C., et al. “A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern”. Lancet395 (2020): 470-473.
3. Zhu N., et al. “A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019”. The New England Journal of Medicine8 (2020): 727-733.
4. Shahin SY., et al. “Knowledge of dentists, dental auxiliaries, and students regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional survey”. BMC Oral Health1 (2020): 363.
5. Dong E., et al. “An interactive web-based dashboard to track COVID-19 in real time”. The Lancet Infectious Diseases5 (2020): 533-534.
6. Johns Hopkins University (JHU). COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) (2021).
7. Liu J., et al. “A comparative overview of COVID-19, MERS and SARS”. International Journal of Surgery 81 (2020): 1-8.
8. Paules CI., et al. “Coronavirus infections—more than just the common cold”. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association8 (2020): 707-708.
9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Symptoms of COVID-19 (2021).
10. Chen N., et al. “Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study”. Lancet395.10223 (2020): 507-513.
11. Tarakji B., et al. “Reactivation of COVID‐19: 14 days from the onset of symptoms may not be enough to allow dental treatment”. Oral Diseases3 (2021): 789-790.
12. Siemieniuk RA., et al. “Drug treatments for COVID-19: living systematic review and network meta-analysis”. BMJ370 (2020): M2980.
13. Smit M., et al. “Prophylaxis for COVID-19: a systematic review”. Clinical Microbiology and Infection4 (2021): 532-537.
14. Li YD., et al. “Coronavirus vaccine development: from SARS and MERS to COVID-19”. Journal of Biomedical Science1 (2020): 104.
15. DeRoo SS., et al. “Planning for a COVID-19 vaccination program”. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association24 (2020): 2458-2459.
16. Meng L., et al. “Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): emerging and future challenges for dental and oral medicine”. Journal of Dental Research5 (2020): 481-487.
17. Peng X., et al. “Transmission routes of 2019-nCoV and controls in dental practice”. International Journal of Oral Science1 (2020): 1-6.
18. Harrel SK., et al. “Aerosols and splatter in dentistry: a brief review of the literature and infection control implications”. The Journal of the American Dental Association4 (2004): 429-437.
19. Li G., et al. “Precautions in dentistry against the outbreak of corona virus disease 2019”. Journal of Infection and Public Health12 (2020): 1805-1810.
20. Spagnuolo G., et al. “COVID-19 outbreak: an overview on dentistry”. Journal of Environmental and Public Health6 (2020): 2094.
21. Chen J. “Pathogenicity and transmissibility of 2019-nCoV-a quick overview and comparison with other emerging viruses”. Microbes Infection2 (2020): 69-71.
22. “Guidance for Dental Settings” (2020).
23. Saudi Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Weqaya). “Health practitioner infection control measures” (2021).
24. Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH). “Dental emergency protocol during COVID-19 pandemic” (2021).
25. Quadri MF., et al. “Novel corona virus disease (COVID-19) awareness among the dental interns, dental auxiliaries and dental specialists in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide study”. Journal of Infection and Public Health6 (2020): 856-864.
26. Aljarbou FA., et al. “Clinical dental students’ knowledge regarding proper dental settings for treating patient during COVID-19: a cross-sectional study”. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences2 (2021): 503-509.
27. Ayatollahi J., et al. “Occupational hazards to dental staff”. Dental Research Journal1 (2012): 2-7.
28. Fasunloro A., et al. “Occupational hazards among clinical dental staff”. The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice2 (2004): 134-152.
29. Wu KY., et al. “COVID‐19’s impact on private practice and academic dentistry in North America”. Oral Diseases53 (2021): 684-687.
30. Tysiąc-Miśta M., et al. “Air disinfection procedures in the dental office during the COVID-19 pandemic”. Medycyna Pracy1 (2021): 39-48.
31. Ghafoor D., et al. “Excessive use of disinfectants against COVID-19 posing potential threat to living beings”. Current Research in Toxicology 2 (2021): 159-168.
32. Haroon Z., et al. “COVID-19 era: challenges and solutions in dental education”. Journal of College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan10 (2020): 129-131.
33. Brennen JS., et al. “Types, sources, and claims of COVID-19 misinformation”. Reuters Institute Factsheet (2020).
34. Roozenbeek J., et al. “Susceptibility to misinformation about COVID-19 around the world”. Royal Society Open Science10 (2020): 201199.
35. Tao ZY., et al. “Nature and diffusion of COVID-19–related oral health information on Chinese social media: analysis of tweets on Weibo”. Journal of Medical Internet Research6 (2020): e19981.