Awareness, Attitudes, and Infection Control Measures of Dentists in Turkey Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic

Year 2021, Volume: 11 Issue: 3, 457 - 465, 27.09.2021

Burcu Günal , Mohamad Abduljalil , Begüm Tunasoylu

https://doi.org/10.33808/clinexphealthsci.811395

Cited By: 2

Abstract

Objective: Corona virus disease is a serious acute respiratory infection that has spread worldwide. The aim of this survey study was to evaluate the knowledge levels, attitudes, and approaches of dentists in Turkey and to investigate the infection control measures applied by the dentists in the dental clinics regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: This survey consisted of 27 questions and was conducted in May 2020. The questionnaire, which was distributed online to the participants through their personal accounts, included questions about the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, their knowledge and awareness of COVID-19 infection, their approach to dental procedures before and during the pandemic, and the control measures they took in dental clinics. The collected data were subjected to statistical analysis using Chi-square tests and P values of < 0.05 were accepted as statistically significant.
Results: Eight hundred twenty-eight dentists completed the questionnaire forming a response rate of 51.8%. The majority of the participants demonstrated a high level of knowledge and awareness regarding COVID-19. The statistical analysis showed that there was no association between the gender of dentists and the applied infection control measures (P > 0.05), while there were significant associations between the health sectors and experience years with the infection control measures (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: These results demonstrated an adequate level of knowledge regarding COVID-19 among dentists in Turkey. Additionally, the rate of using personal protective equipment during dental treatment was high.

Keywords

COVID-19, Dentist, Attitude, Infection control measures, Turkey

Supporting Institution

-

Project Number

-

Thanks

-

References

• [1] Ather A, Patel B, Ruparel NB, Diogenes A, Hargreaves KM. Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19): Implications for Clinical Dental Care. J Endod 2020;46(5):584–595.
• [2] World Health Organization. Novel Coronavirus(2019-nCoV) Situation Report – 11, 2020. (cited 2020 May 26). Available from: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200131-sitrep-11-ncov.pdf?sfvrsn=de7c0f7_4
• [3] Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health. COVID-19 Information Page General Coronavirus Table, 2020. (cited 2020 Sep 20). Available from: https://covid19.saglik.gov.tr/EN-69532/general-coronavirus-table.html
• [4] World Health Organization. WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 11 March 2020. (cited 2020 May 26). Available from: https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020
• [5] Hasöksüz M, Kiliç S, Saraç F. Coronaviruses and sars-cov-2. Turk J Med Sci 2020;50:549–556.
• [6] Rabaan AA, Al-Ahmed SH, Haque S, Sah R, Tiwari R, Malik YS, et al. SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-COV: A comparative overview. Infez Med 2020;28(2):174–184.
• [7] Coronaviridae Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. The species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus: classifying 2019-nCoV and naming it SARS-CoV-2. Nat Microbiol 2020;5(4):536–544.
• [8] Jiang X, Rayner S, Luo MH. Does SARS-CoV-2 has a longer incubation period than SARS and MERS? J Med Virol 2020;92(5):476–478.
• [9] World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020. (cited 2020 Sep 12). Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
• [10] World Health Organization. WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard, 2020. (cited 2020 Sep 12). Available from: https://covid19.who.int/region/euro/country/tr
• [11] Wang D, Hu B, Hu C, Zhu F, Liu X, Zhang J, et al. Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients with 2019 Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA. 2020;323(11):1061-1069.
• [12] Ran L, Chen X, Wang Y, Wu W, Zhang L, Tan X. Risk Factors of Healthcare Workers with Corona Virus Disease 2019: A Retrospective Cohort Study in a Designated Hospital of Wuhan in China. Clin Infect Dis. 2020;ciaa287. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa287
• [13] Ağalar C, Öztürk Engin D. Protective measures for covid-19 for healthcare providers and laboratory personnel. Turk J Med Sci 2020;50:578–584.
• [14] To KKW, Tsang OTY, Yip C, Chan KH, Wu TC, Chan JM, et al. Consistent detection of 2019 novel coronavirus in saliva. Clin Infect Dis 2020. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa149
• [15] Pascarella G, Strumia A, Piliego C, Bruno F, Del Buono R, Costa F, et al. COVID‐19 diagnosis and management: a comprehensive review. J Intern Med 2020;288(2):192-206.
• [16] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How COVID-19 Spreads?, 2020. (cited 2020 May 31). Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html
• [17] Ge ZY, Yang LM, Xia JJ, Fu XH, Zhang YZ. Possible aerosol transmission of COVID-19 and special precautions in dentistry. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B 2020;21(5):361-368.
• [18] Peng X, Xu X, Li Y, Cheng L, Zhou X, Ren B. Transmission routes of 2019-nCoV and controls in dental practice. Int J Oral Sci. 2020;12(1):9.
• [19] World Health Organization. Infection prevention and control during health care when COVID-19 is suspected, 2020. (cited 2020 May 31). Available from: https://www.who.int/publications-detail/infection-prevention-and-control-during-health-care-when-novel-coronavirus-(ncov)-infection-is-suspected-20200125
• [20] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guidance for Dental Settings, 2020. (cited 2020 May 31). Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/dental-settings.html
• [21] American Dental Association. ADA Interim Guidance for Minimizing Risk of COVID-19 Transmission, 2020. (cited 2020 May 31). Available from: https://www.ada.org/media/CPS/Files/COVID/ADA_COVID_Int_Guidance_Treat_Pts.pdf
• [22] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms of Coronavirus, 2020. (cited 2020 Aug 10). Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html.
• [23] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People at Increased Risk, 2020. (cited 2020 Aug 10). Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/index.html
• [24] American Dental Association. Interim Mask and Face Shield Guidelines, 2020. (cited 2020 May 31). Available from: https://success.ada.org/~/media/CPS/Files/COVID/ADA_Interim_Mask_and_Face_Shield_Guidelines.pdf
• [25] Spagnuolo G, De Vito D, Rengo S, Tatullo M. COVID-19 outbreak: An overview on dentistry. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17(6):2094.
• [26] Gamio L. The Workers Who Face the Greatest Coronavirus Risk, 2020. (cited 2020 March 15). Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/15/business/economy/coronavirus-worker- risk.html
• [27] Şirinoglu Çapan B, Akyüz S, Bahçeçik AN, Yarat A, Girgin F. Factors influencing career choices of dental students in a state university in Turkey. Clin Exp Health Sci 2018;8(4):228–236.
• [28] Khader Y, Al Nsour M, Al-Batayneh OB, Saadeh R, Bashier H, Alfaqih M, et al. Dentists’ Awareness, Perception, and Attitude Regarding COVID-19 and Infection Control: Cross-Sectional Study Among Jordanian Dentists. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2020;6(2):e18798. doi: 10.2196/18798
• [29] Sezgin GP, Şirinoğlu Çapan B. Assessment of dentists’ awareness and knowledge levels on the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Braz Oral Res 2020;34:e112. doi: 10.1590/1807-3107bor-2020.vol34.0112
• [30] Teja KV, Vasundhara KA, Sriram G. Knowledge, awareness, and practice of dentists in preventing-novel corona virus (COVID-19) transmission-a questionnaire based cross-sectional survey. Braz Dent Sci 2020;23(2):1–9.
• [31] Gambhir RS, Dhaliwal JS, Aggarwal A, Anand S. Covid-19: a survey on knowledge, awareness and hygiene practices among dental health professionals in an Indian scenario. Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig 2020;71(2):223–229.
• [32] Izzetti R, Gennai S, Nisi M, Barone A, Giuca MR, Gabriele M, et al. A perspective on dental activity during COVID‐19: the Italian survey. Oral Dis 2020. doi: 10.1111/odi.13606
• [33] Ahuja A, Razi MA, Qamar S. Assesment of knowledge and awareness regarding novel coronavirus (COVID-19) among dental professionals of Hazaribag District, Jharkhand, India. IP Int J Periodontol Implantol 2020;5(2):78–86.
• [34] Kamate SK, Sharma S, Thakar S, Srivastava D, Sengupta K, Hadi AJ, et al. Assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices of dental practitioners regarding the covid-19 pandemic: A multinational study. Dent Med Probl 2020;57(1):11–17.
• [35] Gaffar BO, El Tantawi M, Al-Ansari AA, AlAgl AS, Farooqi FA, Almas KM. Knowledge and practices of dentists regarding MERS-CoV: A cross-sectional survey in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Med J 2019;40(7):714–720.
• [36] World Health Organization. Q&A: How is COVID-19 transmitted?, 2020. (cited 2020 Sep 13) Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/q-a-how-is-covid-19-transmitted.
• [37] Kampf G, Todt D, Pfaender S, Steinmann E. Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents. J Hosp Infect 2020;104(3):246–251.
• [38] van Doremalen N, Bushmaker T, Morris DH, Holbrook MG, Gamble A, Williamson BN, et al. Aerosol and surface stability of SARS-CoV-2 as compared with SARS-CoV-1. N Engl J Med 2020;382(16):1564–1567.
• [39] Eggers M, Koburger-Janssen T, Eickmann M, Zorn J. In Vitro Bactericidal and Virucidal Efficacy of Povidone-Iodine Gargle/Mouthwash Against Respiratory and Oral Tract Pathogens. Infect Dis Ther 2018;7(2):249-259.
• [40] Ahmed MA, Jouhar R, Ahmed N, Adnan S, Aftab M, Zafar MS, et al. Fear and practice modifications among dentists to combat novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17(8):2821.