Abstract
Objective: To determine the relationship of transmission of COVID-19 virus knowledge with dental care during a pandemic. Material and Methods: Online questionnaire using Google forms distributed through social media (WhatsApp groups, Facebook, line groups) using a combination of convenience and snowball sampling. The level of knowledge about coronavirus transmission was measured using a questionnaire consisting of 5 statement items. This questionnaire uses the Guttman scale with 3 response and anxiety categories for dental care as measured using a modified questionnaire from the Dental Fear Survey. This questionnaire consisted of 9 question items using a Likert scale. Results: 285 respondents came from WhatsApp media users (89.9%) with an average age of 29.91 years. Respondents who experienced "dental health problems" during the pandemic were 44.7%. The knowledge of respondents about the transmission of the COVID-19 virus in dental care was 79.9% and the knowledge of the fear of caring during the pandemic period was 31.85% afraid. Statistical analysis showed a significant relationship between knowledge about transmission of the COVID-19 virus and fear of dental care (rs=0.388, p<0.001). Conclusion: The results obtained have a significant relationship between knowledge about transmission and fear for dental care during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Sulawesi Province.
Highlights
Fear of dental care usually refers to normal unpleasant emotional reactions to certain threatening stimuli that occur in situations related to dental care [1]
The results obtained have a significant relationship between knowledge about transmission and fear for dental care during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Sulawesi Province
The research sample of 285 social media users returned the questionnaire through Google Form, which came from several districts in South Sulawesi
Summary
Fear of dental care usually refers to normal unpleasant emotional reactions to certain threatening stimuli that occur in situations related to dental care [1]. Some studies have found that several people worry that some dentists might use unclean or unsterile instruments, making them at risk of contracting an infection. This fear is a barrier for some people to do dental treatment [3,6,7,8]. Cross infections during dental care procedures can occur through the transmission of infectious agents between patients and health care workers in the dental care environment. Patients and health professionals in the field of dentistry are surrounded by aerosols that contain microbes during dental treatment originating from the use of dental burs, water, and air spray, and other instruments that produce aerosols [11]
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