Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: Mar 19, 2020
Date Accepted: Apr 2, 2020
Date Submitted to PubMed: Apr 6, 2020
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Dentists’ awareness, perception, and attitude regarding COVID-19 and infection control: A cross-sectional study among Jordanian dentists
ABSTRACT
Background:
Despite the availability of prevention guidelines and recommendations on infection control, many dental practices lack the minimum requirements of infection control. .
Objective:
This study aimed to assess the level of awareness, perception, and attitude regarding COVID-19 and infection control among Jordanian dentists
Methods:
The study population consisted of dentists who work in private clinics, hospitals, and health centers in Jordan. An online questionnaire was sent to a sample of Jordanian dentists in March 2020. The questionnaire comprised a series of questions about dentists’ demographic characteristics, their awareness of incubation period, the symptoms of the disease, mode of transmission of the COVID-19, and infection control measures for preventing COVID-19, and their attitude toward treating patients with COVID-19. Results
Results:
This study included a total of 368 dentists aged from 22 to 73 year with a mean (SD) of 32.9 (10.6) year. A total of 112 (30.4%) had completed a master or residency program in dentistry, 195 (53.0%) had received training in infection control in dentistry, and 28 (7.6%) had attended training or received lectures regarding COVID-19. A total of 162 (44.0%) dentists reported that the incubation period is 7-14 days. The majority of dentists were aware of COVID-19 symptoms and ways of how to identify patients at risk of having COVID-19, were able to correctly report known modes of transmission and were aware of measures for preventing COVID-19 transmission in dental clinics. A total of 275 (74.7%) believed that it is necessary to ask patients to set far from each other, wear masks while in the waiting room, and wash hands before getting in the dental chair to decrease disease transmission. Conclusion
Conclusions:
Jordanian dentists were aware of COVID-19 symptoms, mode of transmission, infection control and measures in dental clinic. However, dentists had limited comprehension of the extra precautionary measures that protect the dental staff and other patients from COVID-19. National and international guidelines should be sent by the regional and national dental associations to all registered dentists during crisis, including this COVID -19 pandemic, to make sure that dentists are well informed and aware of the best practices and recommended disease management approaches.
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