Perception of Patient's Knowledge Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic Attending the Dental OPD of Dow Dental College

OBJECTIVE: To understand the patient's knowledge and perception of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated preventative measures. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional research was carried out among dental patients visiting the Dow Dental College Karachi OPD from August to October 2020. The questionnaire was developed in compliance with the COVID-19 community recommendations of the CDC and WHO. The estimated number of dental patients attending the dental OPD each month is 3200;thus, using this as population size, the sample size computed was 344 by using open epi and retaining the power at 80%, the confidence interval at 95%, and the margin of error at 0.05 percent. RESULTS: In total, 344 patients took part in the research. Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic knowledge, most patients (317/344) thought that fever, fatigue, and dry cough were the most frequent symptoms linked with COVID-19. The majority of them believed that wearing a mask 314/344, i.e., 91.2%, and washing their hands 324/344, i.e.,94.1% properly, was required to reduce the effects of COVID-19. CONCLUSION: The findings revealed that most participants firmly understood COVID-19 as a pandemic. They demonstrated positive attitudes and excellent behaviors for avoiding disease infection transmission.