Facial Self-Touching and the Propagation of COVID-19: The Role of Gloves in the Dental Practice

Background: Despite facial self–touching being a possible source of transmission of SARS–Co–V–2 its role in dental practice has not been studied. Factors such as anxiety symptoms or threat perception of COVID-19 may increase the possibility of contagion. The objective was to compare the impact of control measures, such as gloves or signs in the reduction in facial self–touching. Methods: An intra–subject design was undertaken with 150 adults. The patients’ movements in the waiting room were monitored with Microsoft Kinect software on three occasions: without any control measures, using plastic gloves or using advisory signs against self–touching. Additionally, the participants completed the sub–scale of STAI (State–Anxiety) and the BIP–Q5 (Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire); their blood pressure and heart rate were recorded. Results: The lowest incidence of facial self–touching occurred in the experimental situation in which gloves were introduced. The subjects with elevated anxiety symptoms realized more facial self–touching regardless of the control measures. However, the threat perception of COVID-19 is associated negatively with facial self–touching. Conclusions: The use of gloves is a useful control measure in the reduction in facial touching. However, people with anxiety symptoms regardless of whether they have greater threat perception for COVID-19 exhibit more facial touching.