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<article xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" dtd-version="1.0" article-type="healthcare" lang="en"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">IJCRR</journal-id><journal-id journal-id-type="nlm-ta">I Journ Cur Res Re</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title>International Journal of Current Research and Review</journal-title><abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="pubmed">I Journ Cur Res Re</abbrev-journal-title></journal-title-group><issn pub-type="ppub">2231-2196</issn><issn pub-type="opub">0975-5241</issn><publisher><publisher-name>Radiance Research Academy</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">2977</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="doi"/><article-id pub-id-type="doi-url"> http://dx.doi.org/10.31782/IJCRR.2020.SP30</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Healthcare</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title>COVID Implications in Dentistry __ampersandsignndash; A Questionnaire Survey&#13;
</article-title></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author"><name><surname>Iyer</surname><given-names>Prabhav Kumar</given-names></name></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author"><name><surname>Rengalakshmi</surname><given-names>Sri</given-names></name></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author"><name><surname>P.</surname><given-names>Sarvana Dinesh S.</given-names></name></contrib></contrib-group><pub-date pub-type="ppub"><day>20</day><month>10</month><year>2020</year></pub-date><volume>ti</volume><issue>-b</issue><fpage>234</fpage><lpage>240</lpage><permissions><copyright-statement>This article is copyright of Popeye Publishing, 2009</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2009</copyright-year><license license-type="open-access" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><license-p>This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) Licence. You may share and adapt the material, but must give appropriate credit to the source, provide a link to the licence, and indicate if changes were made.</license-p></license></permissions><abstract><p>Introduction: COVID-19 is a zoonotic virus that originated in bats and pangolins and was later transmitted to humans. The infection began in Wuhan City, Hubei Province in China and was initially diagnosed as an acute respiratory syndrome of unknown origin. The virus has been known to spread via infected droplets, aerosols, and direct contact making it an efficient pathogen. All healthcare workers, especially dentists [since they come in contact with infected aerosol on a daily basis] are at a higher risk of infection with COVID. This study is to check the awareness of the condition among dentists and dental students and to see the effect this disease has bought on dentistry. The aim of this study is to discuss the implications of COVID in dentistry. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in a self-administered questionnaire format. The questionnaire was created on an online platform called Survey Planet and distributed to dental students and private practitioners. The questionnaire consisted of knowledge about COVID and steps on taking extra precautions while seeing patients. The data was collected and compiled in SPSS. Results: Based on the tabulated data, it was seen that most dentists had good knowledge about their practice. 89% agreed that dentists are at a higher risk for COVID. 60.8% said that COVID spreads through infected aerosols. 57.1% said that they would deny treatment to a patient if they suspect them to be infected with COVID-19. 76.9% feel anxious while treating patients and 82.4% are aware of the authorities to call if they come across a patient suspected with COVID-19. Conclusion: It is important for dentists to use proper PPE equipment like masks, face shields, and gowns. Procedures that involve the production of aerosols should be avoided until necessary. Moreover, proper sanitization should be done after completing a procedure and the chair should be disinfected with disinfectants to minimize the chances of the spread of the pathogen via aerosols. Based on the results it is seen the dentists are very anxious when it comes to treating patients during the pandemic. However, they are well aware of the dangers of this disease and are taking precautions to keep themselves and their patients safe&#13;
</p></abstract><kwd-group><kwd> COVID</kwd><kwd> Aerosol</kwd><kwd> Infection</kwd><kwd> Sanitization</kwd><kwd> Anxiety</kwd><kwd> Dental practice</kwd></kwd-group></article-meta></front></article>
