Knowledge, Attitude and Risks Associated in Treatment among Dental Practitioners of Ghaziabad Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: COVID 19 was first reported in Wuhan China, in December 2019 and it soon spread to the entire globe involving millions of people. It was declared as a global pandemic on 11th March 2020 by WHO. The symptoms ranged from mild to deadly and often included fever, cough, breathing difficulty, loss of taste, loss of smell. Severe cases resulted in pneumonia, dyspnea, shock, multi-organ failure and death. Transmission is chiefly through droplets thus pose a significant risk among dental professionals. AIM: to assess the knowledge about Covid-19 among dental practitioners in Ghaziabad and the preventive measures used for the treatment of the patients. MATERIALS AND METHOD: An online survey was carried out among the dental practitioners of Ghaziabad from November 2020 to January 2021. A snowball sample of 250 dentists was selected and a predesigned questionnaire was mailed to them. Response was recorded via a second email sent by them. RESULTS: The study showed that majority of dentists 95% had good knowledge about Covid and the primary source of information was World Health Organization through television, radio and social media. About 85% were fearful of the being infected by suspected patients, and transmitting the disease to their homes and 61% were afraid of the impact it will have on dentists livelihood. It was witnessed that dentists having more than 10 years experience had a positive attitude towards the virus. Infection control protocols seemed insufficient and needed improvement and assistance. CONCLUSION: the study concluded that though the knowledge was good, the practice scores were poor. Our findings have important implications in need for a special training program for dentists to deal which such pandemics.