Nigerian undergraduate dental students' knowledge, perception, and attitude to COVID-19 and infection control practices.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: The current coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected most countries. Infection, Prevention, and Control training is important in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. The closure of universities by the Nigerian government has hampered academic activities of dental students. Our objectives were to assess the knowledge, perception, and attitude of undergraduate dental students in Nigeria to the COVID-19 pandemic and infection control practices. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of undergraduate clinical dental students from the dental schools in Nigeria. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to participants using an online data collection platform. Correct responses to the 45-item questionnaire on COVID-19 knowledge were scored to determine their knowledge level. A Likert scale of 1-5 was used to assess the 13-item perception and attitude questions. The level of significance was set at P values ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 102 undergraduate clinical dental students participated in the study. Males represented 54.9%, and mean age was 25.3 ± 2.4 years. Fifty percent of the students had adequate knowledge of COVID-19. Final-year students (58.1%) demonstrated more adequate knowledge of COVID-19 than penultimate-year students (28.6%, P = 0.008). Most (95.1%) respondents had positive attitudes towards infection control practices against COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Although the clinical dental students had a positive attitude to infection control practices against COVID-19, the overall knowledge of COVID-19 was barely adequate. Guidelines on COVID-19 from reputable health authorities should be reviewed by dental school authorities and disseminated to the students to suit their clinical practice.

Prosthodontic Attitudes and Practices among Dentists during the First Wave of COVID-19 Era.

Context: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly infectious disease that poses a threat in dental practice especially in prosthetic clinics due to the peculiar nature of prosthodontic procedures. Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the attitude and practices in prosthodontics during COVID-19 period. Settings and Design: An online cross-sectional survey was done among dentists practicing prosthodontics across Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The survey was carried out by sending validated structured self-administered questionnaire to dentists on different social and speciality platforms. The questionnaire was designed into four segments namely socio-demographics, attitude, practice, and preparedness of dental staff towards COVID-19. Statistical Analysis Used: Data analysis was done using SPSS software program, version 25.0. Statistical significance was established at P = <0.05. Results: A total of 123 participants were seen with mean age of 45.20 ± 10.80 years. The specialists (48.0%) constituted the largest group, and the majority of participants were from the southwest (74.8%). Only 27.6% were very eager to perform dental procedures. Majority (64.2%) of the treatment was done by consultation via telephone calls, the use of telephone calls was not associated with age nor gender (P = 0.903, 0.611, respectively). A total of 31.7% attended to emergency cases occasionally. Only 13.4% performed prosthodontic treatment and this procedure was done in line with recommended guidelines to control and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Conclusion: The eagerness to perform dental procedures was low and majority of treatment was done by consultation via telephone calls. However, prosthodontic procedure was done by a few of the dentists according to the recommended guidelines for prevention and control.

Management of dental anxiety: a survey of Nigerian dentists

Background: Dental anxiety is a major issue with respect to provisions of and access to dental care. We evaluated the knowledge and management of anxiety among Nigerian dentists. Materials and Methods: The study population included 192 Nigerian dentists recruited during an annual national dental conference in Abuja. The conference was a meeting point for dentists with post graduation experience ranging between 1 and 32 years and from different part of the country. They completed a structured questionnaire on dental anxiolysis. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 16. Results: Of the interviewed dentists; 122 (55.1) practiced in teaching hospitals and 24 had their specialization in child dental health. A total of 34 (19.8) dentists had been exposed to formal trainings on the practice of dental anxiolysis. Of this number; 66 had basic life support training and only 11.8 had refresher training programs. The most preferred route of administration of anxiolytic drugs was oral (57.3). Most of the respondents were of the view that dental anxiolysis should not be instituted for all dental patients. Conclusion: The interviewed Nigerian dentists were knowledgeable and managed dental anxiety. Although some of them had no formal training on dental anxiolysis; the major consensus is that dental anxiolysis should not be instituted for all dental patients