Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate whether Turkish dentists have made any changes in their dental practices and working situations according to their specialties during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Methods: An online cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among dental practitioners of Turkey. Age, gender, education level, working status, dentistry specialty, working situations in the filiation team, professional experience, and income status were the demographic variables recorded. The clinical attitudes of the participants during the COVID-19 pandemic were evaluated according to their dentistry specialties. Data were analyzed with chi-square tests. Results were reported as statistically significant at P < .05.
Results: A total of 145 dentists, 30.3% male and 69.7% female, participated in the study. According to the statistical analyzes, when the dentists’ clinical attitudes are evaluated for emergency treatment, routine treatment, or not performing treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is seen that most of the participants perform routine dental treatments (P < .05). In aesthetic applications, nonaerosol applications, and preventive dental applications, the option selected with the least percentage is “only emergency treatment” in all specialties (P < .05).
Conclusion: Our results provide clear insight into how Turkish dental specialists behaved during the COVID-19 pandemic and will be of use in future emerging outbreak management.
Cite this article as: Gümüştaş B, Birant S. Investigation of Dentist and Dental Specialists’ Clinical Attitudes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey Study. Essent Dent. 1(2):43-48.