IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i8p2821-d347701.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fear and Practice Modifications among Dentists to Combat Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak

Author

Listed:
  • Muhammad Adeel Ahmed

    (Department of Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia)

  • Rizwan Jouhar

    (Department of Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia)

  • Naseer Ahmed

    (Department of Prosthodontics, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi 75500, Pakistan)

  • Samira Adnan

    (Department of Operative Dentistry, Sindh Institute of Oral Health Sciences, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi 75510, Pakistan)

  • Marziya Aftab

    (Department of Operative Dentistry, Dr. Ishrat-ul-ebad khan Institute of Oral Health Science, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi 74200, Pakistan)

  • Muhammad Sohail Zafar

    (Department of Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al-Madina Al-Munawwarah 41311, Saudi Arabia
    Department of Dental Materials, Islamic International Dental College, Riphah International University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan)

  • Zohaib Khurshid

    (Department of Prosthodontics and Dental Implantology, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

An outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China has influenced every aspect of life. Healthcare professionals, especially dentists, are exposed to a higher risk of getting infected due to close contact with infected patients. The current study was conducted to assess anxiety and fear of getting infected among dentists while working during the current novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) outbreak. In addition, dentists’ knowledge about various practice modifications to combat COVID-19 has been evaluated. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey from 10th to 17th March 2020. The well-constructed questionnaire was designed and registered at online website (Kwiksurveys) and validated. A total of 669 participants from 30 different countries across the world responded. After scrutiny, completed questionnaires (n = 650) were included in the study. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 25. Chi-Square and Spearman correlation tests were applied to control confounders and assess the relation of dentists’ response with respect to gender and educational level. More than two-thirds of the general dental practitioners (78%) from 30 countries questioned were anxious and scared by the devastating effects of COVID-19. A large number of dentists (90%) were aware of recent changes in the treatment protocols. However, execution of amended treatment protocol was recorded as 61%. The majority of the dentists (76%) were working in the hospital setting out of which 74% were from private, and 20% were from government setups. Individually we received a large number of responses from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, but collectively more than 50% of the responses were from other parts of the world. Despite having a high standard of knowledge and practice, dental practitioners around the globe are in a state of anxiety and fear while working in their respective fields due to the COVID-19 pandemic impact on humanity. A number of dental practices have either modified their services according to the recommended guidelines to emergency treatment only or closed down practices for an uncertain period.

Suggested Citation

  • Muhammad Adeel Ahmed & Rizwan Jouhar & Naseer Ahmed & Samira Adnan & Marziya Aftab & Muhammad Sohail Zafar & Zohaib Khurshid, 2020. "Fear and Practice Modifications among Dentists to Combat Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-11, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:8:p:2821-:d:347701
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/8/2821/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/8/2821/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ahmad Madarati & Seema Abid & Faisal Tamimi & Ali Ezzi & Aya Sammani & Mohamad Bachar Abou Al Shaar & Muhammad Zafar, 2018. "Dental-Dam for Infection Control and Patient Safety during Clinical Endodontic Treatment: Preferences of Dental Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-11, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bassel Tarakji & Mohammad Zakaria Nassani & Faisal Mehsen Alali & Anas B. Alsalhani & Nasser Raqe Alqhtani & Abdullah Bin Nabhan & Adel Alenzi & Ali Alrafedah, 2021. "COVID-19—Awareness and Practice of Dentists in Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-9, January.
    2. Lina Stangvaltaite-Mouhat & Marte-Mari Uhlen & Rasa Skudutyte-Rysstad & Ewa Alicja Szyszko Hovden & Maziar Shabestari & Vibeke Elise Ansteinsson, 2020. "Dental Health Services Response to COVID-19 in Norway," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-17, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:8:p:2821-:d:347701. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.