Spanish Dentists’ Awareness, Knowledge, and Practice Regarding COVID-19: A Multiple Regression Analysis

Self Cite

Background: The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain posed a major challenge for Spanish dental professionals. The objective of this work is to describe the dental hygienists’ work status and employment patterns during the de-escalation phase in order to analyse the standards of knowledge, compliance with official recommendations, and dental activities both in the public health service and in the private sector. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire was answered by Spanish dental hygienists via WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. The questionnaire was piloted before it was distributed and carried out during June 2020. Results: Here, 517 dental hygienists were surveyed, of which 86.2% followed the official recommendations to avoid contagion and 63.8% agreed with the gradual return to work by limiting the use of aerosols. Private dental hygienists identified more with returning to work without restrictions (14.5%) versus those working for the public service (1.2%) (p < 0.005). Conclusions: Dental hygienists’ return to work has involved different strategies, aimed at controlling infection and guaranteeing the safety of patients and the rest of the dental team. The availability of personal protective equipment, the adaptation of clinical infrastructure, and patient care management have differed between professionals working in the private and public sectors.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Delivery of Health Care by Spanish Dental Hygienists in Private and Public Dental Services during the COVID-19 De-Escalation Phase (June 2020): A Cross-Sectional Study

Expósito-Delgado

Ausina-Márquez

Mateos-Moreno

et al. 2021

Self Cite

“…In March 2020, 86% of Spanish dentists reported that they had difficulties in obtaining suitable PPE, especially FFP2 masks and gowns [ 64 ]. Dental staff had significantly less access to PPE than dentists [ 73 ]. Although efforts were made internationally to increase PPE production, the shortage was still of concern to HCW in fall 2020 [ 71 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational Infections among Dental Health Workers in Germany—14-Year Time Trends

Malsam

Nienhaus

2021

Dental health workers (DHW) are at increased risk of acquiring occupational infections. Due to various protective measures, it can be assumed that infections have decreased over the past 14 years. Secondary data from a German accident insurance company was analyzed in terms of reported and confirmed occupational diseases (OD) in DHW from 2006 to 2019. A total of 271 claims were reported, of which 112 were confirmed as OD, representing an average of eight per year. However, the number of claims and confirmed ODs has decreased by 65.6% and 85.7%, respectively. The decrease was most evident for hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) infections, while tuberculosis (TB) infections were stable. A total of 44 HCV, 33 HBV, 6 TB and 24 latent TB infections were confirmed as ODs. For DHW, 0.05, and for hospital workers, 0.48 claims per 1000 full-time equivalents (FTE) were registered in 2019. In a separate documentation system, between March 2020 and February 2021, 155 COVID-19 claims were registered, and 47 cases were confirmed as ODs. For DHW, 0.7, and for hospital workers, 47.3 COVID-19 claims per 1000 FTE were registered since 2020. Occupational infectious diseases rarely occur among DHW. Nevertheless, new infectious diseases such as COVID-19 pose a major challenge for DHW. Continued attention should be paid to infectious disease prevention.

“…The use of PPE and protective glasses, face shields, masks, gloves, shoe covers, and head caps in the routine dental practice has become mandatory to protect the operator from contamination with blood and saliva while treating patients because asymptomatic patients can be potentially contagious. However, using additional PPE in the pediatric dental office calls for additional behavioral management techniques considering the changed environment in the dental office and dental team physical appearance [24].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pediatric Dentists’ Service Provisions in South-East Europe during the First Wave of COVID-19 Epidemic: Lessons Learned about Preventive Measures and Personal Protective Equipment Use

Vuković

Mandić‐Rajčević

Sava-Rosianu

et al. 2021

Introduction: Having in mind the importance of providing continuous pediatric dental services during the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that children have similar viral loads to adults, the potential to spread the virus to others, and with variable clinical presentation of COVID-19 infection, this study aimed to analyze the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on pediatric dentistry service provision, risks, and preventive measures before and during dental treatment. Method: Structured and closed epidemiological cross-sectional survey involved seven Southeastern European countries. The questionnaire was developed using the modified Delphi method, pretested, and tested in North Italy during April 2020. The sample consisted of licensed dental professionals reached via national dental chambers and social media using the best strategies according to the national setting. Results: A total of 3227 dentists participated in the survey, and we included 643 specialists in this study—among them, 164 were pediatric dentists. Most pediatric dentists worked in the public sector (61.0%) and provided emergency (64.6%) and routine dental treatment (18.3%) during the outbreak. One-third of pediatric dentists were COVID-19 tested, statistically significantly more than other specialties, and 3.0% tested COVID-19 positive. In addition, significantly more pediatric dentists (13.4%) reported the presence of at least one symptom related to COVID-19 compared to other specialists (6.1%). None of the pediatric dentists reported PPE shortage. However, 26.2% of all specialists stated that they lacked clear step by step professional guidance in a national language. Similarly, in both groups, around 10% of specialists attended education on coronavirus. Conclusions: Considering that most pediatric dentists provided dental treatment during lockdown in their countries in public health centers and that they will continue to work during pandemic, our results suggest that pediatric dentists might be at higher risk of COVID-19 infection. Further research should focus on finding better ways to promote and adapt preventive, protective measures and PPE in the pediatric dental setting to be behaviorally acceptable. Moreover, additional efforts should be invested in dental education regarding COVID-19 in the mother tongue.