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. 2021 Mar 23;9(3):364.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare9030364.

Dentists' Working Conditions during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: An Online Survey

Vera Wiesmüller  1 , Emanuel Bruckmoser  2 , Ines Kapferer-Seebacher  1 , Katharina Fink  1 , Sabrina Neururer  3   4 , Dagmar Schnabl  1 , Johannes Laimer  5
Affiliations

Dentists' Working Conditions during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: An Online Survey

Vera Wiesmüller et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the operating conditions of dentists in Central Europe during the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown. A survey including 24 questions was emailed to dentists in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and South Tyrol (Italy). Questions regarding dentists' field of work, working hours, treatments performed, personal protective equipment and protocols, and economic consequences were asked. 1731 participants were included. 30.4% of participants worked mainly in Austria, 60.8% in Germany, 6% in Switzerland and 2.1% in South Tyrol. A country-specific analysis for the situation of South Tyrol was not possible due to the low participation; 53.7% of German, 45.5% of Austrian, and 11.7% of Swiss respondents reduced their working hours; 42.8% of Austrian, 41.5% of Swiss, and 17.3% of German participants closed their offices temporarily; 52.2% of respondents provided emergency service including pain management, restorations/temporaries, and denture repairs. A lack of access to FFP2/FFP3 (filtering facepiece) respirators was indicated by 59.4% Austrian, 38.0% German, and 11.7% Swiss dentists (p < 0.001). FFP2/FFP3 respirators were, when available, most frequently used in Austria (86.9%), followed by Switzerland (61.2%) and Germany (56.7%) (p < 0.001). Financial consequences could not be conclusively quantified by 58.6% of the participants. Most respondents in all partaking countries made use of governmental support. A lack of blueprints/guidelines resulted in heterogeneous working conditions. In consideration of a potentially high risk of infection in the dental setting, non-emergency dental treatments were largely suspended in all participating countries.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; dentistry; lockdown; online survey; questionnaire.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of field of work of participating dentists (multiple answers possible).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The standard use of protective masks (MNS = surgical masks, FFP2 (filtering facepiece) masks, FFP3 masks) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, during the first peak of infections, and missing protective masks at the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Estimated financial loss in the most unprofitable month during the first peak of the pandemic by partaking countries.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Support options used by dentists in Austria, Germany and Switzerland during COVID-19 pandemic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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