Assessing SARS-CoV-2 Infection Rate among Romanian Dental Practitioners

Ondine Lucaciu, Antonia Boca, Anca Stefania Mesaros, Nausica Petrescu, Ovidiu Aghiorghiesei, Ioana Codruta Mirica, Ioan Hosu, Gabriel Armencea, Simion Bran and Cristian Mihail Dinu
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Ondine Lucaciu: Department of Oral Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Antonia Boca: Department of Oral Rehabilitation, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Anca Stefania Mesaros: Department of Dental Propaedeutics, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Nausica Petrescu: Department of Oral Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Ovidiu Aghiorghiesei: Department of Oral Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Ioana Codruta Mirica: Department of Oral Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Ioan Hosu: Department of Communication, Public Relations and Marketing, Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences, Babes Bolyai University, 400132 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Gabriel Armencea: Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Implantology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, 400029 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Simion Bran: Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Implantology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, 400029 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Cristian Mihail Dinu: Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Implantology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, 400029 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on dental treatments, the present research aimed to assess the infection rate among dental practitioners from Romania and to analyze the economic impact of Covid-19 on dental offices. We designed a web-based survey distributed to dental practitioners from Romania. The survey included questions that assessed demographic data from the dentists who completed the questionnaire, along with economic aspects and epidemiological aspects related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental practitioners. Five hundred and seven dentists completed the survey. Three-quarters of the assessed dental offices reported a decrease in the income and patient volume compared to 2019. More than half of the patients visiting the dental office paid more attention to the risk of infection and to prevention methods. Most dental offices implemented specific protective equipment for doctors. Three thousand seven hundred thirty-five dental practitioners were working in the 507 assessed dental offices, and among them, 238 COVID-19 cases of contamination were recorded. High contamination rates were registered in October (48, 20.1%), November (66, 27.7%), and December 2020 (52, 21.85%). Contamination mostly took place at home (114 cases, 47.8%) or resulted from event attendance. This study underlines an overall greater level of safety and an increased patient addressability in dental offices.

Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; dentistry; dental practice (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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