REU dental students’ knowledge about protection methods and the COVID-19 infected patients' treatment protocols in prosthodontics

Abstract

Introduction: Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a global pandemic disaster in early 2020, and it is currently wreaking havoc in many parts of the planet. Prosthodontics units have been forced to halt their clinical operations due to the pandemic. As a result, in the aftermath of the pandemic, several clinics and private practices substantially reduced the number of non-deferrable urgent care prosthodontics patients they treated during the initial wave of the epidemic. Method: This is cross-sectional research that was done via an online survey among REU dentistry students. This research involved 500 students from clinical levels 8 through 12. An online questionnaire was created that included demographic information, as well as questions about knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding the management of COVID-19 suspected patients in prosthodontic clinics. Results: Revealed that a significant proportion of the study was based on females comprising 56.9% and 6th level of dentistry. The majority of them thought that corona patients could be asymptomatic, and according to them, airborne is the main route of transmission. Using the rubber increases the airborne particles. Packets should be disposed of with hygiene and medical waste protocols. Dentists agree that gypsum must be treated as infectious clinical waste.