فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 is a new viral outbreak in the world. Dentists andtheir assistants are at greatest risk of exposure to the virus, due to close contact with patients anddealing with aerosols. Hence, the aim of this study was to compare the use of personal protectiveequipment (PPE) and supplementary protective equipment (SPE) and observance of the principlesof infection control (PIC) in dentists and their assistants before and after the corona crisis.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was conducted using an online surveyfrom May 6 to 20, 2020. Convenience sampling was used to select individuals. The questionnaire,consisting of four general categories about the use of PPE and SPE and the observance of PICby dentists and their assistants before and after corona crisis, was registered at Porsline website(https://survey.porsline.ir/s/KUt7VQB). Frequencies in each subcategory were calculated andcomparisons were done using Chi‑square test, Fisher’s exact test, and paired sample t‑test. A P < 0.05was considered statistically significant.RESULTS: There were significant differences in the frequency of use of PPE by dentists before andafter corona crisis for oral and dental examination and also dental procedures (P < 0.001). Therewere significant differences in the frequency of use of SPE and observance of PIC before and aftercorona crisis, except for different types of suction types (P = 0.22), dental handpiece (P = 0.66),and dental unit (P = 1). There were significant differences in the frequency of use of PPE by dentalassistants before and after corona crisis (P < 0.001).CONCLUSIONS: Although the frequency of use of PPE and observance of PIC increased amongdentists and their assistants, this increase is not sufficient, especially for dental assistants, and ahigher level of use of PPE and PIC observance in face of highly contagious and life‑threateningviruses such as corona is required.