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Introduction: In 2019, an unknown virus was reported in the city of Wuhan, China and later it was declared as a global pandemic, now known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2). The suggested route of this virus transmission is through aerosols, touching contaminated surfaces, or coming in contact with an infected person. Dentists are first-line diagnosticians for oral diseases and are in close contact with patients and, hence, they are at a higher risk of infection. Aim: To assess the level of awareness, perception, and attitude of dentists regarding preventive guidelines and change in their clinical work due to COVID-19. Materials and Methods: In this study, 831 (597 females and 234 males) participants were included. This multiple-choice questionnaire study was conducted among dental professionals of Central India working in private clinics, hospitals, and health centers. An online questionnaire was made available using a Google Form, and a link was circulated among dentists in October 2020. Questions asked in the survey were regarding the participants’ characteristics, their awareness about the incubation period, symptoms of the disease, mode of transmission, impact of COVID-19 on clinical practice, measures taken by them for the prevention of coronavirus disease transmission, perception of dentists regarding rapid testing, and change in their attitude toward treating patients in the midst of this pandemic. Statistical analysis was done using the IBM SPSS version 22.0 (IBM Corporation, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. N.Y., USA). Chi-square test was applied to find differences in the measures of prevention between variables. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: This study consisted of a total of 831 (597 females and 234 males) dentists. The majority of dentists (92.4%) were working in the private sector; 63.9% of dentists were not aware of the correct incubation period. The majority of dentists knew about the mode of transmission and symptoms of COVID. Overall, 96.4% of dentists followed the routine of regularly cleaning and disinfecting the surfaces in contact with patients and experienced that this significantly helped in decreasing the disease transmission. Conclusions: Dentists were well informed of COVID-19 symptoms, its mode of transmission and they were prepared to do the changes needed to be done during the pandemic. |
