Abstract

Background: Dental professionals are among the high-risk categories for getting infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to their work nature. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAPs) of dental professionals related to COVID-19 and their clinical practice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted using a pre-tested and validated questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised closed-ended questions related to KAPs. Responses of the participants were scored based on the total scores obtained, and each domain was categorized into good, fair, and poor. The association between socio-demographic details and KAP scores was analyzed using Pearson’s chi-square test.
Results: Most of the participants showed good scores in KAPs related to COVID-19. Saudi dentists had comparatively better KAP scores than non-Saudi dentists (p < 0.001). Male dentists and dental specialist had comparatively better knowledge scores than female and general dentists (p < 0.001). Dentists who had experience for less than 5 years demonstrated lesser knowledge and practice scores than others with more experience (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Dentists in Saudi Arabia had good KAPs toward COVID-19 and its importance in dentistry. Dentists should follow all the guidelines and take extra precautionary measures to stop the spread of this pandemic.

Key words: COVID-19 , Dental Practice , Transmission , Pandemic