Evaluation of Cross Infection Control in Dentistry; A Patients’ Perception Study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the perception of patients visiting a dental OPD in Karachi regarding cross infection control measures that should be taken in dental practice. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the OPD of Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine from January to August 2020. A total of 546 patients aged 20-75 years of either gender coming for routine dental check-ups were included in the study using non-probability convenience sampling. A well-structured and validated questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of patients regarding cross infection measures that should be present in dental practices. SPSS-25 was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics was used to calculate frequency and percentage of qualitative (gender, socioeconomic and education status, knowledge attitude and practice levels of patients) and quantitative variables (age groups). Chi-square test was used to detect the relation of patient's knowledge levels with potential factors like the age groups, gender, socioeconomic and education status. The p-value of (< 0.05) was considered as significant. RESULTS: Out of the total participants, 79.1% had good knowledge about cross infection control measures in dental practice. Majority of the patients (84.6%) agreed that dentists should wear gloves during treatment, though majority were of the opinion that a dentist can treat several patients with the same set of gloves. About 4.9% of the patients said that they ask the dentist to wear face mask and gloves while treating them, and only 3.3% said that they ask the dentist about sterilization of instruments. The knowledge level of patients showed variation with their education status but not with respect to socioeconomic status, age and gender. CONCLUSION: Although overall the patients visiting dental clinics had good perception and showed positive attitudes towards cross infection control, the dental health practitioners need to disseminate basic technical information about the infection-control practices required for safe dental practice to dental patients and the community at large. KEYWORDS: cross infection, knowledge, dentist, dental patients, perception