Impact of COVID-19 on dentistry in El Salvador
Keywords:
COVID-19, Dentistry, Dental professionals, Personal protective equipment (PPE)Abstract
Objective: To report the impact of COVID-19 on dentistry professionals in El Salvador. Methodology: Online cross-sectional survey of 552 Salvadoran dentists in July 2020, using a questionnaire previously validated for use in an international collaborative study. The variables under study were: sociodemographic data; signs/symptoms and involvement by COVID-19; clinical activity during that phase of the pandemic; protective measures adopted; and self-perception of the situation created by COVID-19. Results: 40.07 % of the respondents were dentists who owned private clinics. 20.7 % were tested for the diagnosis of COVID-19, with a positive result in 1.6%. 35.66 % decided to limit their clinical activity by attending emergencies, 60.66 % stopped providing services altogether; the main reasons were institutional regulations (50.8 %) and insecurity in the face of contagion (46.3 %). The most commonly used prevention measures were surface disinfection (64.31 %) and hand washing (63.77 %). The majority used at least one of the recommended protective measures. 57.1 % did not take any course on COVID-19. 83.7 % considered the dentistry profession to be at high risk of contagion and 60.9 % believed that the risk of transmission in dental practice was greater than going to the supermarket. Conclusions: The study reflects that in the dentistry who underwent COVID-19 testing, there was a low rate of infected persons. The majority did not engage in clinical practice during this period and those who did so applied strict measures of prevention and protection against COVID-19
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