Dentists' Perspective on the Impact of COVID-19 on the Utilization of Emergency Dental Services in Kuwait: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This cross-sectional study intends to evaluate dentists' perceptions of COVID-19's effects on the use of emergency dental care both during and after Kuwait's lockdown periods. A convenience sample of dentists employed by the Ministry of Health's various emergency dental clinics and School Oral Health Programs (SOHP) throughout Kuwait's six governorates were invited to take part in this study. To determine the impact of various demographic and occupational characteristics on the mean perception score of the dentist, a multi-variable model was developed. The study was conducted between June-September 2021, and a total of 268 dentists (61% males and 39% females) participated in this study. When compared to pre-lockdown periods, the overall number of patients seen by dentists had significantly decreased after the lockdown period. After lockdown, there were significantly more cases of acute pulpitis with apical periodontitis, abscesses, and pericoronitis than there were before lockdown (p < 0.05). After the lockdown, a significantly higher percentage of dentists (p < 0.05) reported using fewer droplets-generating procedures to manage patients with dental emergencies. After correcting for the other variables in the model, female dentists (ß = 0.146; 95% CI = 0.071 to 1.451) and non-Kuwaiti dentist (ß = 0.012; 95% CI = 0.234 to 1.854) had a significantly (p < 0.05) more positive perception of the utilization of dental services than others after adjusting for the other variables in the model. The majority of dentists perceive that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on Kuwait's use of emergency dental services.

Epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 cases among Indians residing in Kuwait.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has rapidly spread to most countries around the world. Disproportionate spread of COVID-19 among the Indian community in Kuwait prompted heightened surveillance in this community. AIMS: To study the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients and their contacts among the Indian community in Kuwait. METHODS: Data collection was done as a part of contact tracing efforts undertaken by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health. RESULTS: We analysed contact-tracing data for the initial 1348 laboratory-confirmed Indian patients and 6357 contacts (5681 close and 676 casual). The mean (standard deviation) age of the patients was 39.43 (10.5) years and 76.5% of the cases were asymptomatic or had only mild symptoms. Asymptomatic patients were significantly older [40.05 (10.42) years] than patients with severe symptoms [37.54 (10.54) years] (P = 0.024). About 70% of the patients were living in shared accommodation. Most of the close contacts were living in the same household, as compared with casual contacts, who were primarily workplace contacts (P < 0.001). Among the different occupations, healthcare workers had the highest proportion of cases (18.4%). Among the 216 pairs of cases with a clear relationship between the index and secondary cases, the mean serial interval was estimated to be 3.89 (3.69) days, with a median of 3 and interquartile range of 1-5 days. CONCLUSION: An early increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among the Indian community could be primarily attributed to crowded living conditions and the high proportion of healthcare workers in this community.

Dental Education in an Era of COVID-19: Kuwait's Experience.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on dental education worldwide. Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 across Kuwait, it was essential for the Faculty of Dentistry (FoD) at Kuwait University to make appropriate modifications to the functioning of the dental school. The FoD's goal was not only to ensure a safe environment for its staff, students, and patients but also to sustain the students' academic progression. The FoD adopted several measures including the establishment of a COVID-19 response team, adoption of a blended-learning model, and phase-wise re-opening of the dental center. This paper discusses on the strategies that the FoD adopted, in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic.