Operational Implications and Risk Assessment of COVID-19 in Dental Practices

Saba Wajeeh, Abhishek Lal, Naseer Ahmed, Md. Ibrahim Khalil, Afsheen Maqsood, Akram Mojidea M Alshammari, Abdulelah Zaid Alshammari, Meshari Musallam Mohammed Alsharari, Abdulelah Hamdan Alrushaydan, Abdulaziz Fandi Alruwaili and Mohammad Khursheed Alam
Additional contact information
Saba Wajeeh: Quality Assurance Department, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi 75500, Pakistan
Abhishek Lal: Department of Prosthodontics, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi 75500, Pakistan
Naseer Ahmed: Department of Prosthodontics, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi 75500, Pakistan
Md. Ibrahim Khalil: Departamento de Odontologia, Clínica Internacional CIRO, University De La Salle, Av. Benjamín Franklin 45, Colonia Condesa, Cuauhtémoc, Ciudad de México 06140, Mexico
Afsheen Maqsood: Department of Oral Pathology, Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Karachi 75530, Pakistan
Akram Mojidea M Alshammari: Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka 72345, Saudi Arabia
Abdulelah Zaid Alshammari: Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka 72345, Saudi Arabia
Meshari Musallam Mohammed Alsharari: Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka 72345, Saudi Arabia
Abdulelah Hamdan Alrushaydan: Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka 72345, Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz Fandi Alruwaili: Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka 72345, Saudi Arabia
Mohammad Khursheed Alam: Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka 72345, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-13

Abstract: The unprecedented situation of the coronavirus pandemic has impacted the entire world, with dental practice being significantly affected. In this study, we aim to evaluate the operational implications and risk assessment of the coronavirus in dental practice. This observational study comprised the electronic distribution of two surveys, one to patients and the second to dental professionals. The first questionnaire consisted of demographics along with 15 closed-ended questions. The second questionnaire consisted of demographics along with 43 questions from eight domains: financial impact, psychological impact, patient satisfaction, hygiene, patient management, COVID-19 lockdown, perspective, and practicing dentistry after the COVID-19 pandemic. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS-25. A linear regression test was applied to assess the effect of the dependent variable (patient’s satisfaction with the dental practice) on independent variables (age, gender, education). The ANOVA test was applied to assess the effect of the independent variables (financial impact, psychological impact, patient satisfaction, hygiene, patient management, lockdown, perspective, and post-COVID-19) on the dependent variables (age, gender, education, experience of dentists, qualification of dentists). A total of 711 patients and dental professionals participated in this study, with a response rate of 88.87%. Approximately 67.9% of the patients felt comfortable in the dental clinic, with 74.5% being satisfied with the dental clinic’s services. The majority (77.4%) of the dentists were psychologically affected. Many of the participants chose to use masks, gowns, respiratory equipment, and face shields for protection. Teledentistry was preferred by the majority of dentists in non-emergency cases. Many of the dentists chose alternative procedures to minimize the generation of aerosols. The majority of the dentists suggested changes in the dynamics of dentistry in the post-COVID era, such as the suggestion that the management of the finances of a dental practice along with infection control protocols should be practiced more optimally. Patients and dental professionals were well aware of the necessary precautionary measures required to combat the coronavirus, as well as the implications of different operational measures along with performing risk assessment, keeping in mind the changing dynamics of dentistry.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; dental clinics; dentists; patients; risk assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12244/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12244/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:22:p:12244-:d:684880

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().