Evaluation of the General Level of Knowledge about COVID-19 Infection of Parents Who Visited a Pedodontics Clinic during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective: It is predicted that diseases transmitted by droplets will cause pandemics in the future, as in the past. In order to control possible pandemics, people need to be conscious of diseases that droplets can transmit. For these reasons, this study aimed to evaluate the general level of knowledge about COVID-19 infection of parents who applied to the pedodontics clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In this study, the questionnaire was applied to 450 parents of children referred to the pediatric dentistry clinic for dental examination. Our study's data analysis was performed using the SPSS v23 (Chicago, IL, USA) software package program. Percentage and frequency values of answers to questions were obtained. Results: It has been observed that most of the parents have sufficient knowledge about the transmission routes and symptoms of COVID-19 infection. 95.1% of parents reported that dentists should use protective equipment (mask, glasses, protective clothing) during aerosol procedures. 98.8% of parents stated that parents and patients in dental clinics should wear their masks to cover the nose and mouth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: The participants were conscious about masks and distance during the pandemic and were knowledgeable about the symptoms and transmission routes of COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 Pandemisi Esnasında Pedodonti Kliniğine Başvuran Ebeveynlerin COVID-19 Enfeksiyonu İle İlgili Genel Bilgi Düzeylerinin Değerlendirilmesi Amaç: Gelecekte geçmişte olduğu gibi damlacık yolu ile bulaşan hastalıkların pandemilere sebep olacağı öngörülmektedir. Olası pandemilerin kontrol altına alınabilmesi için insanların damlacık yolu ile bulaşabilen hastalıklara karşı bilinçlenmesi önemlidir. Çalışmamızın amacı COVID-19 pandemisi sürecinde çocuk diş hekimliği kliniğine çocuklarının diş rahatsızlığı nedeniyle başvuran ebeveynlerin COVID-19 enfeksiyonu hakkındaki yaklaşımları ve bilgi düzeyleri hakkında bilgi sahibi olmaktır. Yöntemler: Çalışmamızda çocuğunu dental muayene amacıyla çocuk diş hekimliği kliniğine getiren 450 ebeveyne anket uygulanmıştır. Elde edilen veriler SPSS versiyon 23.0 yazılım programı (SPSS Inc.; Chicago, IL, ABD). Yüzde ve frekans değerleri kullanıldı. Bulgular: Ebeveynlerin çoğunun COVID-19 enfeksiyonunun bulaş yolları ve belirtileri hakkında bilgi düzeylerinin yeterli olduğu gözlenmiştir. Ebeveynlerin %95.1’i hekimlerin aerosollü işlemler sırasında koruyucu ekipman (maske, gözlük, koruyucu kıyafet) kullanması gerektiğini bildirmiştir. Ebeveynlerin %98.8’i COVID-19 pandemisi esnasında dental kliniklerde ziyaretçilerin ve hastaların maskelerini burnu ve ağızı kapatacak şekilde takmaları gerektiğini belirtmiştir. Sonuç: Katılımcıların pandemi döneminde maske ve mesafe konusunda bilinçlendiğini ve COVID-19 enfeksiyonun belirtileri ve bulaş yolları konusunda bilgi sahibi olduklarını düşünmekteyiz. Anahtar Kelimeler: COVID-19, diş hekimliği, pandemi, koruyucu ekipman

Keywords

• COVID-19
• dentistry
• pandemic
• protective equipment

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