Effect of work environment and specialty degree of dentists on cross-infection control in COVID-19 pandemic

Performing dental procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic carries certain risks in terms of cross contamination.ObjectivesTo evaluate the effect of specialty education and work environment on of dentists’ behavior, awareness and attitude regarding cross-infection control in COVID-19 pandemic.DesignThe study population consisted of Turkish dentists who work in private clinics, public clinics and university hospitals. Demographics of the participants, awareness of COVID-19 and clinical measures taken against cross-infection were evaluated with an online survey. Between 10th-20th of November 2020, 1,000 surveys were e-mailed to the dentists.ResultsA total 454 dentists answered the survey; 29.3% of the participants deliver only urgent care, 59.9% both urgent and routine treatments and personal protective equipment (PPE) were used at rates varying between 75.5% and 98.4%. 90.6% of the dentists stated that they were worried about aerosol generating dental procedures and there was no difference between sexes in this regard (p=0.119). The majority of participants, mainly specialists (p=0.16), applied strict cross-infection control methods during the COVID-19 pandemic (77.2%). The rate of PPE use was statistically higher by women compared to men (p=0.025) and by specialists compared to others (p=0.04). There was a weak positive correlation between level of PPE use and expertise (r=0.121, p=0.01).ConclusionsAlthough participants' knowledge about the symptoms of COVID-19, transmission routes and following the guidelines were at a sufficient level, dental specialists apply protection equipment procedures more strictly. Although participants were concerned about dental practices that create microbial aerosols during the pandemic period, still they continue their dental routines using high levels of PPE and taking extra clinical precautions to avoid cross-infection.