Comparison of COVID-19 relevant knowledge and attitudes of clinical and preclinical dental students in Turkey

  • Karaaslan F
  • Dikilitaş A
  • Aydin E
N/ACitations
Citations of this article
28Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Background/Aim: Dental care settings invariably carry the risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection because dental practice involves face-to-face communication with patients and the generation of large amounts of aerosol and droplets mixed with patients' saliva. Since droplet and aerosol transmission are the most important concerns in dental clinics, informing future dentists about pandemic diseases at the undergraduate stage is important. In this context, the aim of this study was to compare the knowledge and attitudes of clinical and preclinical dental students regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: 159 preclinical and 130 clinical dental students were included in this cross sectional study. The researchers developed a closed-ended questionnaire with the help of the existing literature. The questionnaire contained 17 questions about the knowledge and attitudes of dental students regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Clinical students feel significantly more threatened with exposure to COVID-19 infection than preclinical students (p<0.05, chi-square test). The proportion of students who do not want to treat an individual who has had a COVID-19 infection and recovered is statistically higher in clinical students (p<0.05, chi-square test). The proportion of students who think that using protective equipment during dental practice will not protect them against COVID-19 infection is statistically higher in clinical students (p<0.05, chi-square test). Conclusions: More education and training courses are need in order to improve students' knowledge and attitudes regarding newly emerging pandemic diseases.

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Karaaslan, F., Dikilitaş, A., & Aydin, E. (2020). Comparison of COVID-19 relevant knowledge and attitudes of clinical and preclinical dental students in Turkey. Balkan Journal of Dental Medicine, 24(3), 127–133. https://doi.org/10.2478/bjdm-2020-0021

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 4

50%

Lecturer / Post doc 2

25%

Professor / Associate Prof. 1

13%

Researcher 1

13%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Medicine and Dentistry 9

82%

Social Sciences 1

9%

Neuroscience 1

9%

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free