Knowledge and Awareness of Specialists, General Dentists and Assistants Regarding SARS-CoV-2

AIM OR PURPOSE: This study aims to assess the knowledge and awareness among dental specialists, general dentists and dental assistants regarding guidelines on minimizing the spread of infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey based cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample size of 84 patients. A modified version of validated questionnaire was used to evaluate knowledge and awareness regarding SARS-CoV-2 as per the Center of Disease Control guidelines. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA to assess the difference in scores ofknowledge among three groups. Pair-wise comparisons were performed using post-hoc Tukey test. Simple linear regression was used to examine factors influencing knowledge scores. Among all the dental specialists, 13 were orthodontists, 9 were operative dentists, 8 were maxillofacial surgeons, 4 were prosthodontists, and one periodontist, who responded to the survey. RESULTS: Among the three groups, we found a significant difference (p = 0.02) of knowledge scores between dental specialists, general dentists and dental assistants. Additionally, themean knowledge scores of dental specialists, general dentists and dental assistants were 10.05 ± 2.10, 9.95 ± 2.60 and 8.53 ± 2.10 respectively. On pairwise comparison, we found that there was a significant difference (p = 0.02) of knowledge scores among dental specialists as compared to dental assistants. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings, the study suggests that hospitals should conduct mandatory workshops, training sessions and seminars for awareness of novel coronavirus (nCoV) pandemic and disinfection protocols, not only for specialists but also for all the staff members.