Knowledge and Attitudes of Ajman University Dentists towards the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Background: in December, 2019 corona virus discovered in Wuhan, china as a new viral infection affect respiratory system. It is then distributed throughout the whole word causing death and sickness for huge number of people in most of the countries. This study evaluate Ajman university dental professionals' knowledge and attitudes towards corona virus and the applied strategies for its prevention and treatment. Material and methods: The study done by online questionnaire which distributed to the participants through emails. The questionnaire consists of three parts (demographic, knowledge, and attitudes) towards corona virus which was filled by 297 dentists. Data analyzed by (SPSS, 22V) to revealed study results. Results: study showed that (100%) know the main rout of virus transmission through close contact with the patient and sharing things with patients. However, there is a loss of information towards other way of virus transmission. (78%) of the participants do not know about any medication for corona virus nor a vaccination for it. (76%) they are willing to treat patients with corona however they prefer to do it in hospitals or specialized centers. (95%) of the participants ask for more precautions and preventive measures for dental treatment of corona virus patients. The majority of dental professionals had anxiety towards dental treatment of corona virus. Conclusions: study findings revealed that dental professionals showed good knowledge towards virus transmission, however there are missing information of other ways of transmission. This finding indicates that providing information strategies by health institutions should be updated to enhance information needed for the medical staff. Study showed that infection control should be applied in all dental clinics and high quality of dental materials and instruments for preventive measures should be provided. To avoid dental staff anxiety towards dental treatment of corona virus patients' high standard staff preparation should be provided during dental treatment.