Evaluating the Practice of Preventive Behaviors and the Fear of COVID-19 among Dentists in Oradea Metropolitan Area after the First Wave of Pandemic; a Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Dental clinics were suspected to be a hotspot for nosocomial transmission of COVID-19 due to the easy spread of the virus. The study investigated the preventive behaviors applied in dentistry settings and the level of fear of COVID-19 infection among dentists. A total of 83 respondents (34.94% male and 63.86% female) were included in the research. Sociodemographic data were collected, together with new institutional and personal rules regarding preventive behaviors. Fear of COVID-19 Scale was used to measure the fear of infection. Data was analyzed using SPSS (v.25, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). During the first seven months of confinement, 3.9% of dentists were confirmed with COVID-19 and one fourth treated confirmed positive patients. A quarter of the doctors declared that they had periods when they lived away from home being afraid of transmitting the disease to their family members, and significant data were found in doctors being parents. The closure of dental offices had a negative impact on the financial situation of dentists, especially on those working in rural area offices. Many doctors encountered difficulties in purchasing protective suits and medical supplies, and more than half of the respondents (65.1%, N = 54) focused on the quality of protective suits when purchasing them. More than half of the dentists were trained how to use them. The score for fear of COVID 19 was similar to dentists from other countries. Respondents with chronic diseases were more prone to show higher level of anxiety when following the news and stories related to COVID-19 on TV, media, or social networks. One third of dentists mentioned that they had treated exclusively specific urgent dental problems since the onset of the pandemic and more than 13.3% declared that they refused to provide medical assistance to some specific pathologies because of the fear of infection. The results reflect new challenges and rules adopted by dentists in order to diminish the risk of infection and the impact of pandemic considering their psychological, familial, and financial context. Policymakers and professional associations around may benefit from these findings while formulating guidelines to support dentists during COVID-19 or any future pandemics.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Academic Activity and Health Status among Romanian Medical Dentistry Students; A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In light of national COVID-19 infection-control recommendations, dental faculties had to suspend in-person instruction, and teaching activity was conducted online. Some researchers who focused on online dental education pointed out the rapid change adopted by dental faculties in many countries, such as the USA [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ], Germany [ 10 ], Italy [ 11 ], China [ 12 , 13 ], Chile [ 14 ], Brazil [ 8 , 15 , 16 ], Pakistan [ 17 ], Nepal [ 18 , 19 ], Indonesia [ 20 ], India [ 21 , 22 ], Jordan [ 23 ], Romania [ 24 , 25 , 26 ], Portugal [ 27 , 28 ], Cyprus [ 29 ], Australia [ 8 , 30 ], and Spain [ 31 ]. During the first year of the pandemic, the academic research teams additionally wanted to identify the differences between countries in what aspects of dental education were disrupted.…”

The Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination on Anxiety Levels of Turkish Dental Professionals and Their Attitude in Clinical Care: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In a previous study conducted by these authors, the rate of dentists diagnosed with COVID-19 was 1.7% [17]. In the study of Iurcov et al, it was thought that the positive rate was low because the participants did not take patients [30]. In the current study, the number of dentists who stated that they did not receive patients from the start of the outbreak until the time of this study was only five.…”

“…According to the Turkish Dental Association, 32 dentists have died since the beginning of the outbreak [29]. In a study on fear and preventive behaviors caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in dentists, 3.9% of dentists who participated in the study confirmed that they were COVID-19-positive [30]. In a study conducted by Sebastian et al [31], the positive rate of dentists was 4%, and in the study of Alajmi et al [32], this rate was also 10%.…”

Symptoms of Burnout Syndrome among Physicians during the Outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic—A Systematic Literature Review

“…Another medical speciality extremely touched by the pandemic was dentistry, with a high risk of infection. A quarter of the dentists included in the research by Iurcov et al [ 69 ] declared that they had periods when they lived away from home, being afraid of transmitting the disease to their family members; this especially applied to doctors with children. Dentists with chronic diseases showed a higher level of anxiety when following the news and stories related to COVID-19 on TV, the media, or social networks.…”