Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding covid-19 pandemic among dental practitioners of india: A questionnaire-based survey

ABSTRACT

Background-Owing to high viral load in saliva, dental practitioners are not only susceptible for exposure during Covid-19 outbreak but also post pandemic era. During the period of evolving facts and recommendations of WHO for maintaining precautions this study is an effort to understand the preparedness of dental practitioners to resume their practice. Objectives-The objective of this study is to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of dental practitioners regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods-This cross-sectional study was conducted among dental practitioners of India through an online questionnaire-based survey to collect data. The questionnaire was divided into sections containing structured multiple-choice questions about the knowledge, attitude and practice of dental practitioners. Result-Upon analyzing 311 responses it has been observed that majority of dental practitioners were aware of common symptoms of Covid-19 and about the modes of transmission of the disease. They possess adequate knowledge about use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) with 88.4 % suggesting to use it while performing aerosol generating procedure. Their awareness about a Covid-19 patient becoming noninfectious is inadequate with only 10% reporting 30 days. Attitude and practice of dental practitioners regarding Covid-19 were stratified on the basis of years of practice. Conclusions-Dental practitioners possess adequate knowledge about standard precaution protocol although they are less aware about transmission-based precaution specific to Covid-19 situation. This study attempts to highlight some facts about Covid-19 which will enlighten the dental practitioners before resuming practice.