Dentists’ Perceptions on the present and future dental practice during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a significant burden on everyone in the worst possible manner. Though dental professionals are at an increased risk for COVID-9 infection, currently, very little is known about how oral health professionals and their professions could be affected by the pandemic. We conducted an embedded mixed-methods study to investigate dentists' perceptions on present and future dental practice because of the COVID-19 pandemic with Indian dentists. A total of 976 responded dentists responded to an online survey. Of them, 61% were females, 32% were 40 years of age or younger. Nearly half of the respondents (54%) acknowledged that the lockdown measures caused them a severe financial burden, and 56% were seriously concerned about being a source of infection to their family, friends, and community. Though 79% felt very comfortable or somewhat comfortable going back to work, they were all worried that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use would increase their financial burden and impact the number of patients seeking care. Even though a vast majority received the necessary information concerning returning to practice from their concerning dental regulatory bodies, some were unsure about the reuse of the PPEs because of the conflicting information they received. Our study concluded that, the COVID-19 pandemic affected participants' professional lives negatively. Their major concerns were being a source of infection to their families and community. Providing information to dental professionals in a timely manner may prepare the dentists to provide safe care to their patients while protecting themselves and their families.