Perception about COVID-19 among Dental Students of a Tertiary Care Dental Hospital, Bangalore-A Cross-Sectional Survey

BACKGROUND During the lockdown period of COVID-19 pandemic, dental colleges in Bangalore, India, had switched to online dental education and when the cases started to decline, the dental colleges finally welcomed students on campus in November 2020 following the Government directions. Majority of the dental procedures produce droplets and aerosols in a dental practice. In this context, the standard protective measures are not enough in the daily dental practice during this pandemic. Dental professionals, students in particular should be aware of the main symptoms of COVID-19, its mode of transmission and precautions to be adopted in the dental practice so as to break the chain of infection. The purpose of the study was to investigate the perception regarding COVID-19 among the dental students of a dental teaching institution in Bangalore city. METHODS An online questionnaire was created to assess the perception about COVID-19 among dental students. Total enumeration method was followed, and undergraduates, interns and post graduate students of a tertiary care dental hospital participated in the online survey. chi-square goodness of fit test was used to compare the differences in the distribution of respondents and independent chi-square test was used to do the comparison in the difference of responses towards the study questionnaire between the students studying in different undergraduate years; with level of significance set at P < 0.05. RESULTS About 380 dental students participated in the online survey; correct response rate was slightly higher among clinical dental students than pre-clinical students. Educational and training programmes related to COVID-19, infection control and practices were implemented at the institution for the dental professionals in the academic level. CONCLUSIONS The perception about COVID-19 among pre-clinical dental students were slightly lower than the clinical students.