EVALUATION OF THE INFECTION AWARENESS OF DENTISTS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Background: The present study aims to investigate the state of sterilization, disinfection and infection control of dentists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study involved 310 dentists, who were asked to fill in a 19-question, multiple-choice survey on sterilization, disinfection and infection control. The survey results were evaluated statistically using chi-square test. Results: An investigation of the changes in working conditions and occupational experience during the pandemic period showed that 86.7% of the physicians who quit are the ones with occupational experience of 0 to 6 years. 89.3% of the physicians who answered “No idea” to the question about sterilization methods consist of physicians with over 20 years of experience, while 7.1% of them are physicians with 6-10 years of experience. Conclusion: Dentistry is the highest risk profession in the COVID-19 pandemic. And dentists need to reduce this risk by utilizing personal protective equipment and adopting the most appropriate disinfection and sterilization measures. Key Words: Disinfection, dentistry, sterilization.