Awareness of COVID-19 among dental students in Chennai, India- A questionnaire based study

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) is a global public-health emergency. Dental professionals are considered to be at high risk, as most dental treatment procedures can lead to the spread of infection due to the direct proximity with saliva, blood and generation of aerosols. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, awareness and hygiene practices regarding COVID-19 among dental students in Chennai, India during these critical times. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A self-administered, structured, close-ended 15-point questionnaire was distributed among the undergraduate and postgraduate dental students in Chennai. A total of 198 participants completed the questionnaire. Convenience sampling method was used for data collection and the distribution of responses was presented as percentages. RESULTS: Among the 198 participants a total of 54 (27.2%) exhibited high level of knowledge while 67 (33.8%) demonstrated moderate knowledge and 77 (38.8%) demonstrated low level of knowledge. Mean knowledge score was 8.5, minimum and maximum scores were 4 and 15 respectively among the dental students. CONCLUSION: Most the participants seemed to have inadequate knowledge about COVID19 and precautionary measures taken to prevent COVID19 from spreading. These show vulnerabilities in the knowledge of dental students to deal with the current scenario and thus, there is a need to improve the knowledge of dental students through health education and training programmes. After the condition is normalised, further research on the subject are also required.