Abstract
Objectives:To investigate the clinical dental students’ knowledge on the proper dental setting during COVID-19.Methods:Using multicenter cross-sectional study, a 10-items questionnaire was distributed in April 2020 among senior dental students from two dental schools. It comprised three main domains: demographic questions, questions investigating student’s access to the proper recommendations of dental settings during COVID-19 and the specific recommendations questions.Results:The questionnaire was sent to 654 clinical dental students and the total number of respondents were 267 representing a response rate of 40.83%. The overall knowledge mean was low (1±0.92). Gender was not a statistically significant factor affecting the knowledge score (P > 0.05). Most of the participants never visited the Saudi Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Saudi CDC) website and received no guidance or advice regarding proper dental practices during COVID-19. A statistically significant relationship was observed between the mean knowledge score and access to knowledge variables (P < 0.05).Conclusion:It was noted that clinical dental students have low knowledge on the proper dental settings during COVID-19 pandemic that was recommended by the Saudi CDC guidelines and they must be equipped with adequate knowledge from reliable sources to overcome their insufficiencies such as a well-structured and dynamic curriculum.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of daily life
Knowledge domains questions consisted of six questions about the dental settings after COVID-19 pandemic and it was based on The Saudi Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Saudi CDC) without modifications.[8]
Electronic mail addresses of all fourth and fifth-year dental students were collected from the student directories of both dental schools and formal invitations were sent to Proper dental settings for treating patient during COVID-19 participate in the study by answering the attached electronic-based questionnaire
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of daily life. It is caused by the SARSCoV-2 virus and originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, as multiple cases presenting with viral pneumonia emerged.[1] The symptoms can be serious and lead to death.[2] Soon after, widespread infection occurred in different parts of the world in the form of pandemic disease. Pak J Med Sci March - April 2021 Vol 37 No 2 www.pjms.org.pk 503 deaths, reported to World Health Organization (WHO).[3] To reduce the chances of being infected or spreading COVID-19, WHO posted an advice for public on how to protect yourself and others and highlighted the importance of social distancing, washing hands, avoiding going to crowded places and self-isolation even with minor symptoms.[4] The health profession was acutely involved with this virus including dentistry. International and local authorities made the recommendations readily available on their official websites and social accounts to allow medical professionals to be continuously updated and this would improve the preparedness to treat during such a pandemic.[6,7]
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