Professional exposure and the risk of covid-19 infection among Saudi dentists during the first semester of the pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: To explore practice changes among dentists during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-August 2020) and to estimate the risk of occupational COVID-19 infection in association with the professional risk factors. Method: A cross-sectional study was involved 321 dentists working in public or private center in Western Saudi Arabia. An online, questionnaire was disseminated through social media professional groups, collecting data on the participant's practice during the exposure period, COVID-19 status and the suspected source of infection if applicable, besides data on other professional parameters and occupational exposure. Result: Of the total participants, 191 (59.3%) declared having worked during the study period, among whom the prevalence of COVID-19 infection was 10.5% (95% CI=6.5% - 15.7%), of them 15.0% suspected having acquired the infection from an infected patient. The prevalence of COVID-19 was higher among participants who declared having practiced during March (16.3% vs. 4.3%) and April (16.5% vs. 6.3%) compared to those who were not on duty during these two months, respectively (p<0.05). All COVID- 19 positive participants were working in facilities not requiring patients to be tested prior treatment (p=0.015). Further, the COVID-19 infection rate was relatively higher among participants who declared performing treatment that require hand- piece operation (12.7% vs. 2.4%; p=0.081). Conclusion: The prevalence of COVID-19 infection among dentists was estimated as 10-fold the prevalence in the general population, and the risk of infection was time-dependent and was associated with the preventive measures implemented by the facility and the type of procedures performed by the dentist. PU - DISCOVERY PUBLICATION PI - TAMILNADU PA - KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT, TAMILNADU, 00000, INDIA