Knowledge and therapeutic approach of Iranian dentists toward Covid-19 pandemic

Dental services are a hotspot for viral transmission. To combat this transmission, it is critical that dentists have complete knowledge about the disease as well as quick access to information. To prevent COVID-19 viral spreading through dental practices, dentists must be well versed on the disease and infection control measures. As a result, the goal of this study was to assess Iranian dentists’ knowledge on this topic.

The current study is a questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey. A modified questionnaire of a perused one was prepared, the validity of which was confirmed and the reliability was accepted by Cronbach’s alpha test (0.86). It with six components was completed by 133 Iranian dentists: consent to participate in research, demographic information, knowledge, infection control, vaccination, and therapeutic approach. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman rank correlation coefficient were performed, P<0.05 was considered as the level of significance.

Iranian dentists are shown to have proper knowledge, but only 21.7% of participants received infection control courses; moreover, only 47% of them knew the accurate incubation period of the Virus. Dentists working in Academic clinics took more preventive measures than those who worked in private clinic (P value=0.023).

It is recommended that health care authorities ensure that dentists receive organized information and guidelines.