Research Article | Open Access
Fine aerosols and perceived risk of COVID 19 among dental practitioners- A cross sectional survey
Alagu Rathi Bharathi Jayashri Prabakar
Pages: 237-253
Abstract
Introduction: The coronavirus disease is caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and declared to be transmitted from human-to-human. This
transmission takes place through multiple means like the aerosols, fomites and droplets. In
dentistry, dental ultrasonic devices and high-speed handpieces, mainly when used with water,
commonly produce the fine aerosols. These aerosol particles can remain suspended in air then
land on adjacent surfaces within the dental office, which includes the personal protection
equipment. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to make a survey on Dental
practitioners concerning the perceived risks of aerosol contamination in COVID-19 times and
their attitude toward modifications of treatment protocols to reduce this risk.
Objective: The objective of the present study was to make a survey on Dental practitioners
concerning the perceived risks of aerosol contamination in COVID-19 times and their attitude
toward modifications of treatment protocols to reduce this risk.
Materials and Methods: The present cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among
dental practitioners. The survey was conducted on an online forum using google form. The
questionnaire included questions related to fine aerosols and perceived risks of aerosol
contamination in COVID-19 along with sociodemographic factors such as age, gender and
year of study. Descriptive statistics were expressed by means of frequency and percentage.
Chi Square test was used to find the association between the variables. P value less than 0.05
were considered to be statistically significant.
Result: From our survey we can witness about 60% of the participants had increased fear of
perceived risk of COVID 19 among dental practitioners. Considering the categories more at
risk in the dental settings, the majority 50% of respondents thought that the dentists were
undergoing highest risks, while only the 19% of respondents considered patients to be the
ones more at risk; and about 30% of respondents believed risks to be equally divided between
patients and dental professionals.
Conclusion: From the survey we may conclude that the survey demonstrated that COVID-19
had a great impact on dental practitioners; it increased not only fear of aerosol contamination
during dental treatments but also influenced the fear of close contacts
Keywords
COVID-19 , Fine aerosols, perceived risks, dental practitioners, Innovative analysis