Dentistry during COVID-19: patients' knowledge and satisfaction toward health protocols COVID-19 during dental treatment

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as an infectious disease primarily spreading through droplet infection in dental treatment. Patient satisfaction is an indicator of healthcare quality service. Quality of healthcare service and patient satisfaction has been affected by the COVID‑19 pandemic. This study aims to assess the knowledge and satisfaction toward health protocols COVID-19 during dental treatment among dental patients. METHODS: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 270 dental patients using a self‑designed questionnaire consisting of knowledge and satisfaction about health protocols COVID-19 during dental treatment through a random sampling technique. Data were imported to SPSS version 21 for analysis. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used to identify the factors associated with their knowledge and satisfaction. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistical significance. RESULTS: Totally, 270 dental patients with mean age of 37.6 ± 6.7 years participated in the study. The mean knowledge score was 36.7 ± 3.5, as considerable number of participants were unaware about the risk associated with dental treatment as well as restrictions imposed on dental procedures. About 18% of participants experienced one or other form of dental complaints during the lockdown period. The overall level of patient satisfaction was 44.6%. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that, public knowledge is to be improved about risk of virus transmission that can be related with dental treatment and also people should be encouraged to use virtual facilities, such as teledentistry, so that no dental emergencies is left untreated during the pandemic time. In addition, the level of satisfaction was in a medium level for dental patients in the study area. Specifically, we deduced from the results that social/physical distancing measures are one of the mechanisms to decrease the fear of exposure to the COVID-19.