European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: Proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is an integral part of infection control and prevention of cross-infection during dental treatment, which has gained momentum following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Aim: This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to assess the attitude and commitments of Dental Health Care Providers (DHCP) and students at Riyadh Elm University (REU) teaching hospitals to (PPE) during their daily practice.
Material and Method: Data was collected using an electronic, close-ended questionnaire uploaded through Google Forms and sent via email to the study population. It consisted of twenty questions targeting the health care provider at (REU) dental hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In addition to the demographic data, the questions were directed at assessing the participants' attitudes and commitment toward (PPE) during their daily clinical work.
Results: The total number of participants was 136 (57.4% male and 42.6% female). Most of the participants used to wear surgical medical masks (63.2%). N95 masks were used by only 11.8% of the respondents. More than half of the participants (58.8%) used to wear the masks for four hours, with a statistically significant difference between males and females regarding the masks' time (P-value =.0021). 91.9% of the time, the mask was worn during the patient examination and history taking. Only 58.1% and 85.3% of respondents reported using face coverage and eye protection, respectively. A head cap was used routinely by 55.1% of the participants. Dental assistants adhered to PPE and measures better than the other groups, especially when wearing gowns and head caps (P 0.05). Only 69.9% of the respondents answered correctly about the correct sequence of wearing PPE, and only 54.1% knew the correct sequence of removing PPE.
Conclusion: The general practices and commitment to PPE among DHCPs at REU are acceptable. There was a lack of knowledge regarding proper donning and doffing sequences. Compliance with eye protection and hand hygiene practice recommendations needs improvement. Dental assistance demonstrated better commitment to eye protection, gown, and head cap-wearing and better knowledge regarding donning and doffing than other DHCPs.