Evaluation of the knowledge and attitudes of dental health care workers regarding the new coronavirus disease-2019 outbreak

Objective: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is contagious through respiratory droplets, close contact and aerosols emitted from high-end instruments Dentists are at high risk for infection and have become carriers of the disease Thus, dental health professionals should have sufficient knowledge and a high level of awareness on this issue This study aimed to investigate the levels of knowledge and awareness about COVID-19 among dentists, students of dentistry and dental nurses Materials and Methods: This study included 124 dentists, 122 students of dentistry and 128 nurses A closed-ended questionnaire was developed with the help of the existing literature The questionnaire, containing ten questions, was divided into three parts Results: Dentists, nurses and students of dentistry had adequate information regarding COVID-19 It was determined that all the participating dentists (100%) and nurses (100%) and most students of dentistry (97 5%) felt threatened by being exposed to COVID-19 infection A significantly higher proportion of dentists (58 9%) and clinical students (55 7%) compared to nurses (9 4%) believed that using protective equipment during dental practice will not protect them against COVID-19 infection Conclusion: Dental health care workers should be trained in the prevention and control of COVID-19, and they should regularly renew these skills to protect themselves against new infections that may occur in the future