COVID-19 Prevalence among Czech Dentists

Jan Schmidt, Vojtech Perina, Jana Treglerova, Nela Pilbauerova, Jakub Suchanek and Roman Smucler
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Jan Schmidt: Department of Dentistry, Charles University, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove and University Hospital Hradec Kralove, 500 05 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
Vojtech Perina: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Masaryk University, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Brno, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Jana Treglerova: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Masaryk University, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Brno, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Nela Pilbauerova: Department of Dentistry, Charles University, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove and University Hospital Hradec Kralove, 500 05 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
Jakub Suchanek: Department of Dentistry, Charles University, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove and University Hospital Hradec Kralove, 500 05 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
Roman Smucler: Czech Dental Chamber, Slavojova 270/22, 128 00 Prague, Czech Republic

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-16

Abstract: This work evaluates the prevalence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), among members of the Czech Dental Chamber. The assessment was based on an online questionnaire filled out by 2716 participants, representing 24.3% of all chamber members. Overall, 25.4% of the participants admitted they were diagnosed with COVID-19 by 30 June 2021, with no statistical differences between the sexes. While in the age groups under 50 the reported prevalence was around 30%, with increasing age, it gradually decreased to 15.2% in the group over 70 years. The work environment was identified as a place of contagion by 38.4% of the respondents. The total COVID-19 PCR-verified positivity was 13.9%, revealing a statistically lower prevalence ( p = 0.0180) compared with the Czech general population, in which the COVID-19 PCR-verified positivity was ~15.6% (fourth highest rank in the world). The total infection–hospitalization ratio (IHR) was 2.8%, and the median age group of hospitalized individuals was 60–70 years. For respondents older than 60 years, the IHR was 8.7%, and for those under 40 years, it was 0%. Of the respondents, 37.7% admitted that another team member was diagnosed with COVID-19, of which the most frequently mentioned profession was a nurse/dental assistant (81.2%). The results indicate that although the dentist profession is associated with a high occupational risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, well-chosen antiepidemic measures adopted by dental professionals may outweigh it.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; prevalence; dentistry; pandemic; dentist; occupational health; infection (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 (2)

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