Abstract:

Aims: Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 is usually transmitted by direct contact such as coughing and sneezing. In this survey, we aim to evaluate the knowledge of a group of preclinical dental students, who have not yet started working in the clinic, about the pandemic, protective measures, and the risks of infection in dental clinics. Methods: In this descriptive study the criterion sampling method, one of the qualitative sampling techniques, was used to evaluate students with no clinical experience. The respondents were the preclinical dental students (1st, 2nd and 3rd classes). The survey questionnaire consisted of four domains: demographic information; general information about Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19); preventive behaviors applied during the pandemic; and relationship of COVID-19 with dentistry. Results: Of the students surveyed (n=95, age between 18 and 23 years, female 67.4%), 47 were from the 1st class, 24 from the 2nd class, and 24 from the 3rd class. The least applied item among the preventive behaviors was the item “I have increased the frequency of cleaning the places that are in contact with the hands (e.g., door handle)” by 90.5%. The majority of the responders (97.9%) thought there was a high risk of transmission from the patient to the dentist. There were small differences in the direction of responses across student classes. Conclusions: Dentistry students who participated in this study showed significant awareness of COVID-19, and were highly adapted to the preventive behaviors. However, the results also suggested some deficiencies in the knowledge level of students about the risk of viral transmission during dentistry procedures.

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