The Knowledge, Awareness, and Attitude Regarding COVID-19 among Trinidad and Tobago Dentists. A Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

The COVID-19 virus is highly infectious, and it places both patients and dental health care providers at high risk for contracting the disease. Therefore, it is crucial for dental teams to practice preventative measures against COVID-19 by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), handwashing, ensuring adequate ventilation and sticking to strict protocols when conducting aerosol-generating procedures. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using an online platform was conducted to assess dentists’ knowledge, attitude and awareness of COVID-19 in Trinidad and Tobago. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-square and Fisher exact test were performed. Results: One hundred and ninety-two dentists participated in the survey. The age group, 30–39, comprised 40.6% of the respondents. General dentists comprised 80.7% of the sample. The majority of the respondents evaluated their awareness of COVID-19 as above average. There was no difference in knowledge between dentists and specialists regarding routes of transmission and preventative techniques. More female dentists reported feeling anxious and fearful. Conclusions: There was a high level of agreement between different professionals about the preventative measures, routes of transmission and incubation period. There was a lot of variation in knowledge about the survivability of the virus on innate objects. More education campaigns, seminars, and rehabilitation services targeting dentists in Trinidad and Tobago are required.

Dental Care and Education Facing Highly Transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Variants: Prospective Biosafety Setting: Prospective, Single-Arm, Single-Center Study

“…There is a high level of agreement between different dental specializations about the necessary preventive measures of the routes of transmission. Published data regarding the survivability of the virus on innate objects vary substantially [70]. Nevertheless, due to the wearing of personal protective equipment (respirators, gloves, masks, eye shields, and gowns) and use of disinfection procedures, this risk can be significantly mitigated.…”

Dentistry after Omicron variant: Introducing a New Biosafety Protocol in Prevention of COVID-19 in Dental Care

“…There is a high level of agreement between different dental specializations about the necessary preventive measures of the routes of transmission. Published data regarding the survivability of the virus on innate objects vary substantially [67]. Nevertheless, due to the wearing of personal protective equipment (respirators, gloves, masks, eye shields, and gowns) and use of disinfection procedures, this risk can be significantly mitigated.…”

“…The ability of this variant to evade immunity from previous infections in contrast to Delta and Alpha variants was presented in population-level evidence [88] and thus make this suggestion epidemiologically important in countries with huge amounts of previously infected cases, as Slovakia is. An increased risk of reinfection of omicron variant is known according to preliminary evidence [62], [66], [67] and probably caused by Omicron escape of neutralization antibodies [97]. Even after two doses of mRNA vaccines, higher transmissibility of Omicron was observed also in Norway [98].…”

Biosafety in Dental Care Facing Highly Transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Variants: Introduction of Prospective Setting Protocol in Prevention of COVID-19

“…Such recommendations must be updated as new evidence of virus properties arises [69,70] There is a high level of agreement between different dental specializations about the necessary preventive measures of the routes of transmission. Published data regarding the survivability of the virus on innate objects vary substantially [71]. Nevertheless, due to the wearing of personal protective equipment (respirators, gloves, masks, eye shields, and gowns) and use of disinfection procedures, this risk can be significantly mitigated.…”