Factors associated with dentists' fear of infecting family members as a consequence of dental practice

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Dentists are exposed to the risk of infection by respiratory diseases to aerosols potentially contaminated. The factors associated with dentists' fear of infecting relatives because of dental practice were investigated. Questionnaires structured in Google Forms were sent to dentists in Belo Horizonte city, Brazil, who worked before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The dependent variable was “fear of infecting family members”. The independent variables were sociodemographic characteristics, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) before and during the pandemic, important actions to prevent infection, knowledge and feelings about the pandemic, and the future of the profession. Analyses were performed using Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's exact test (p≤0.05). The prevalence of fear was 84.3%. Having changed the use of surgical masks (p=0.038) and N95/PFF2/PFF3 masks (p = 0.043), having not changed the use of lab coats (p=0.013), greater anxiety during the pandemic period (p=0.004), and fear of being infected by a patient or colleague (p<0.001) were associated with the fear of infecting family members. The fear of infecting relatives made the dentists more anxious, with the fear of infection by patients or co-workers as well as more careful about the use of PPE.