Infection Control Measures in Pakistani Dental Practices During COVID-19 Outbreak

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to assess infection control measures in dental practices during COVID-19 outbreak in Pakistan. METHODOLOGY: It was a cross-sectional web based survey conducted during COVID-19 outbreak from the period of June 2020 to August 2020. The study participants were the dental surgeons who were either working in hospital setup or running their own private practice or working in private dental setup. The survey consisted of sets of questions to assess whether dental practitioners have implemented strategies to combat novel corona virus infection in their practice. It also consists of questions that assess aerosol generating procedures are commencing with or without out any COVID-19 symptoms. RESULTS: About 39.1% participants reported that 75% of the number of patients in their clinic had been reduced and 52.2% of the participants reported that >50% of the patients came for endodontic procedures with pain. Eighty one percent of the participants were maintaining hand hygiene before touching all patients, 71.7% before any cleaning, 78.3% before any aseptic procedure, 81% after exposure to patient’s fluid and 80.4% after touching. There was low compliance regarding the use of personal protective equipment and almost 62.6% were using eye wear for all patients, 58.7% were disinfecting whole clinical room before new patient and 43.9% were using single use (disposable) examination set during COVID-19 outbreak. CONCLUSION: Majority of dentist in Pakistan were following the recommendations and guidelines of infection control practices related to COVID-19 pandemic. KEYWORDS: COVID-19, coronavirus, infection control measures, practices, dentistry