COVID-19: The Dentists' Perceived Impact on the Dental Practice.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to investigate the dentists' knowledge of the risks from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, and how it will impact their practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An ad hoc self-administered anonymous questionnaire was submitted to Italian dentists. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Differences in rates were calculated using the chi-square test. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 849 dentists fully completed the survey. Eighty-eight per cent of Italian dentists are worried about the health of their families, with no difference in high-risk (red zone) and low-risk (orange zone) regions. About 86% of professionals report some income loss and 94% fear a drop in patients after the quarantine phase, with the dentists working the red zone claiming a greater economic loss and fearing a reduced practice after the end of the lockdown. DISCUSSION: A large majority of the Italian dentists appears to be aware of the need for changes in their dental practices by planning specific sterilization processes between appointments, testing patients for SARS-CoV-2 serology, asking patients not to be accompanied, and reducing the number of visits per day. CONCLUSION: The survey expresses the serious concern of the dentists for the pandemic's effects on their profession.