Knowledge, stress levels, and clinical practice modifications of Turkish dentists due to COVID-19: a survey study

Abstract: Dentists are exposed to the highest risk of occupational respiratory and droplet infections by working face-to-face with patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge of symptoms and modes of transmission of COVID-19, stress levels and clinical practice modifications of Turkish dentists during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey (15 questions) was sent to Turkish dentists from May 5 to 12 May, 2020. The survey comprised questions about dentists’ demographic characteristics, their knowledge about COVID-19, stress levels and the measures taken in dental clinics against COVID-19. This study included a total of 1,095 Turkish dentists. The data were expressed as frequency with percentage values for overall variables. Dentists were most familiar with high fever among the symptoms of COVID-19 (99.4%) and 99.2% of them reported that COVID-19 was transmitted with eye, mouth and nasal mucosa contact on surfaces contaminated with the droplets of infected persons. While the stress levels of females were higher than males, the stress levels of dentists with more than 20 years of professional experience were found to be lower. Regarding the precautions to be taken as a preventive measure when working again, 86.6% of the dentists took precautions by increasing daily patient care intervals and only 38.4% of the dentists wore an N95 mask. During this pandemic, knowing the conditions about when the treatments can be applied and the precautions to be taken will shed light on dentistry staff. Current recommendations of national authorities about the coronavirus should be followed.

摘要：牙医因与患者面对面开展诊疗工作，是职业性呼吸道及飞沫感染的最高风险人群。本研究旨在探究2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行期间，土耳其牙医对COVID-19症状及传播途径的认知水平、心理应激程度，以及其临床诊疗行为的调整情况。本研究于2020年5月5日至12日向土耳其牙医发放了一份包含15个问题的线上调查问卷，问卷内容涵盖牙医的人口统计学特征、对COVID-19的认知水平、心理应激程度，以及牙科诊所针对COVID-19采取的防控措施。本研究共纳入1095名土耳其牙医作为研究对象，所有变量的统计数据以频数及百分比形式呈现。在COVID-19的各类症状中，牙医对高热的知晓率最高（99.4%）；另有99.2%的受访者表示，COVID-19可通过接触被感染者飞沫污染的物体表面，进而经眼、口及鼻黏膜传播。女性牙医的心理应激程度高于男性，而拥有20年以上执业经验的牙医应激水平则相对更低。针对复工后需采取的防控措施，86.6%的牙医通过延长每日接诊患者的间隔时间落实防控，仅38.4%的牙医佩戴N95口罩。本次大流行期间，明确诊疗实施的适用条件与防控措施，可为牙科从业人员提供实践指导。临床工作中应严格遵循各国卫生主管部门当前发布的新型冠状病毒防控指南。