Original Research Article
Year: 2020 | Month: July-September | Volume: 5 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 174-179
A Cross-Sectional Study of Changes in Thai Dental Practices due to the COVID-19 Outbreak
Pratch Ruangpeerakul1, Chayanoot Sangwichien2
1Triam Udom Suksa School, Bangkok, Thailand
2Prince of Songkla University, Thailand
Corresponding Author: Pratch Ruangpeerakul
ABSTRACT
Since its emergence in December 2019, corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted numerous countries, affecting millions of patients and making it a global public threat. As of July 11, 2020, COVID-19 has been recognized in Thailand with a total of 3216 laboratory-confirmed cases and 58 deaths. Infection control measures are necessary to prevent the virus from further spreading and to help control the epidemic situation. Due to the characteristics of dental settings, the risk of cross infection can be high between patients and dental practitioners. For dental practices and hospitals in areas that are (potentially) affected with COVID-19, strict and effective infection control protocols are urgently needed. The current cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the changes made in Thai dental practices following the recommended guidelines of CDC, ADA, and the Thai Dental Council. A study population consisted of 70 dentists who worked in private clinics, private hospitals, and public healthcare services in Thailand. The online questionnaire was comprised of questions pertaining to infection control measures taken in dental practices due to COVID-19. The respondents were asked to describe the infection controls in their dental practices by choosing one option from a modified Likert-scale, ranging from 1 to 5; the higher the score, the more preventive measures taken. Results showed that preventive measures in most Thai dental practices are taken seriously, especially the screening of the patients (mean score of 4.57) and body temperature measurement (mean score of 4.80).
Keywords: Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Infection control, Dental practices, Medical screening, Aerosol transmission