The impact of covid-19 related lockdown on dental practice in central italy—outcomes of a survey

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected lives and professions worldwide. We aimed to determine the behavior of dentists during the lockdown in Central Italy through an online survey. We demonstrated that the most frequent of urgencies, not otherwise manageable through telemedicine, was dental pulp inflammation. Although a statistically significant increase in the use of some of the personal protective equipment (PPE) from pre to during lockdown was shown, dentists were afraid of being infected during the dental procedures. Moreover, we showed that digital dentistry, telemedicine, use of the rubber dam, distancing of the appointments and further structural changes at the dental office are necessary to reduce the contagion among dentists and patients. No significant differences were shown between gender.