The Level of Knowledge and Preparedness of Dental Professionals for COVID-19 among Public and Private Dental Sectors in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 has become a serious public health issue throughout the world’s healthcare system due to its rapid spread. Because COVID-19 is so contagious, workers must be properly trained to prevent the virus from spreading to them. Protective clothing, sanitised gloves, and respirators are just a few examples of the safety precautions that need to be taken. Dental institutions and their affiliated health centres and research stations have been severely impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. According to the World Health Organisation (2020), the risk of fast infection is higher among individuals who are close to or who operate near the COVID-19 patients, for instance, family members or health practitioners. This research was conducted to determine the level of knowledge, preparedness, and perception of COVID-19 among dentists in the private and public dental sectors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted that used a non-probability sampling method. The data were collected through online questionnaires between February 2021 and June 2021, where standardized close-ended questions were asked via Google forms from dentists in public and private dental sectors in five regions of Saudi Arabia. A total of 145 people responded to the questionnaire; three of them decided not to participate in the study, while 30 respondents failed to select the correct answer to the quality assurance question. The remaining 112 respondents were included in the analysis. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences (IRB-2021-DOH-021). Results: The findings showed that most dentists (58%) had high knowledge of COVID-19, which was followed closely by those who had average knowledge (34.8%), while the rest (7.1%) had insufficient knowledge about COVID-19. In terms of evaluating the level of preparedness, which included the method of prevention and practice of dentists while dealing with COVID19, results showed that most of the respondents (42.9%) indicated that they have the highest preparedness level. Concerning the level of perception of dentists toward COVID-19, the results showed that the majority (48.2%) of dentists had the highest perception. However, the perception level was higher compared to their level of preparedness but lower compared to their level of knowledge. Conclusion: Dentists in KSA have enough understanding of COVID-19 transmission and general information. As the number of COVID-19 cases in KSA and other countries continue to grow, dentists must stay up to date on the latest information concerning the disease. Continuous educational programs are required to improve the understanding of infection management. © 2022 Alharbi et al.