The Response of the Indonesian Dental Community to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of this study was to assess the response of dental health care workers in Indonesia to the COVID-19 pandemic through (1) a countrywide web-based, questionnaire survey of their knowledge, attitude, and infection control (IC) practices during the pandemic and (2) a focus group discussion (FGD) on the latter aspects with infected personnel, as well as (3) archival data collection on the epidemiology of COVID-19 amongst dentists in Indonesia.

A questionnaire survey using a web platform was conducted in May 2020 using a simple random sample of 3586 dentists working in different regions of Indonesia. The questionnaire attempted to elicit their knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19, implementing IC measures, and providing dental care during the outbreak. The questionnaire comprised sections assessing participants' knowledge, awareness, and IC practice. In this study, the data were subjected to analysis through descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a predetermined significance level of <.05. The study's second phase involved an FGD with dentists who had contracted the disease to discuss the impediments they faced during dental practice. We collected data on the number of dentists with COVID-19 from May 2020 to March 2022.

The questionnaire survey revealed that the dentists had a satisfactory understanding of COVID-19 spread and the IC measures required to curb disease spread in the dental clinic. Of note, some dentists lacked knowledge of the incubation period of 5 days (21.19%). The vast majority of the respondents (>80%) were aware of the nature of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Community health centres and the personnel who served there were the most exposed health care providers.

Results suggest that the vast majority of the dental care professionals in Indonesia had adequate knowledge and awareness of COVID-19. However, some aspects of practice need to be improved in IC and related aspects.