Knowledge and attitude of dental professionals toward COVID-19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional survey

Darshan Devang Divakar; Shruti Basavaraj Nimbeni; Abdulaziz A Al-Kheraif; Aftab Ahmed Khan; Sachin Naik; Sanjeev Balappa Khanagar; Chitra Jhugroo; Basavaraj Nimbeni

doi:10.2478/abm-2021-0034

Knowledge and attitude of dental professionals toward COVID-19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional survey

Asian Biomed (Res Rev News). 2021 Dec 30;15(6):277-284. doi: 10.2478/abm-2021-0034. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Darshan Devang Divakar¹, Shruti Basavaraj Nimbeni², Abdulaziz A Al-Kheraif¹, Aftab Ahmed Khan¹, Sachin Naik¹, Sanjeev Balappa Khanagar³, Chitra Jhugroo¹, Basavaraj Nimbeni⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dental Health, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Preventive Dentistry, Division of Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dental Sciences, Mustaqbal University, Buraydah, Al-Qassim Province 51431, Saudi Arabia.
³ Dental Public Health, College of Dentistry, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdulaziz Medical City, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Agmal Ebtsama Dental and Derma Clinics Center, Buraydah, Al-Qassim Province 51431, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a life-threatening global pandemic. The dental profession is considered a high-risk group in the transmission of the responsible virus.

Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitude among dental professionals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of dental graduates, interns, postgraduates, and dental faculty from May to July 2020. A standardized questionnaire was developed to assess knowledge and attitude of 650 participants. The questionnaire comprised 14 questions to assess general knowledge about COVID-19, 11 questions regarding knowledge about prevention of COVID-19 in dental practice, and 10 questions regarding the attitude toward preventing COVID-19.

Results: Among the study population, only 376 (57.8%) knew the causative virus for COVID-19. Only 425 (65.3%) knew about rinsing the mouth with an antimicrobial solution or 1% hydrogen peroxide before the dental procedure. Regarding the hand hygiene guidelines, 357 (54.9%) had knowledge of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and 377 (58.0%) about World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. At the time of our survey, 72% of the participants showed sufficient knowledge, while 28% had low or insufficient knowledge about COVID-19.

Conclusion: While there was a lack of knowledge among dental professionals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia about COVID-19, there was an excellent positive attitude toward preventing disease. Greater awareness is needed to control the spread of this disease.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; dental; pandemics; preventive health services.