The impact of COVID-19 on Italian dentists: A cross-sectional survey on 2443 participants

Objective: To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic among a sample of Italian dentists in terms of infection, strategies for infection control, organization of the dental clinic, attitude, and behavior. Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey. The sample consisted of 8000 Italian dentists selected among 63,375 using a computerized random sampling method. An electronic informed consent had to be signed. The questionnaire categories were on demographic, infection risk management, organization, and dentists' attitude and behavior. Geographic macro-areas were used for subgroup analysis. Results: Among 8000 invited dentists, 2443 agreed to participate to the survey (30.6%). Mean age was 51.2 years, women were 34.5%. A total of 6.1% self-reported COVID-19 experience and higher rate of infection was reported in north Italy compared to the south (p < 0.05). FFP2/FFP3 respirators (97.1%) and visors (97.4%) were used by almost all dentists. While, natural ventilation and mouthwashes were the most frequent approaches used to reduce the infection risk. Most of the dentists reported positive attitude, nevertheless 83.6% felt an increased responsibility. Conclusion: The self-reported COVID-19 prevalence was 6.1% with some differences among geographic areas. COVID 19 had a deep impact on preventive strategies, dental office organization, and behavior within this sample.