Dentists’ Working Conditions during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: An Online Survey
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 dentist...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/3/364 |
| _version_ | 1797540300626853888 |
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| author | Vera Wiesmüller Emanuel Bruckmoser Ines Kapferer-Seebacher Katharina Fink Sabrina Neururer Dagmar Schnabl Johannes Laimer |
| author_facet | Vera Wiesmüller Emanuel Bruckmoser Ines Kapferer-Seebacher Katharina Fink Sabrina Neururer Dagmar Schnabl Johannes Laimer |
| author_sort | Vera Wiesmüller |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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 (<i>p</i> < 0.001). FFP2/FFP3 respirators were, when available, most frequently used in Austria (86.9%), followed by Switzerland (61.2%) and Germany (56.7%) (<i>p</i> < 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:58:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7e3f5e8ae73d4e7aa6a71597cd5bada1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:58:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-7e3f5e8ae73d4e7aa6a71597cd5bada12023-11-21T11:44:13ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322021-03-019336410.3390/healthcare9030364Dentists’ Working Conditions during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: An Online SurveyVera Wiesmüller0Emanuel Bruckmoser1Ines Kapferer-Seebacher2Katharina Fink3Sabrina Neururer4Dagmar Schnabl5Johannes Laimer6University Hospital for Operative and Restorative Dentistry, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstr. 35, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaPrivate Practice for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 5020 Salzburg, AustriaUniversity Hospital for Operative and Restorative Dentistry, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstr. 35, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaUniversity Hospital for Operative and Restorative Dentistry, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstr. 35, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaDepartment of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Health Economics, Medical University of Innsbruck, Schoepfstr. 41/1, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaUniversity Hospital for Operative and Restorative Dentistry, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstr. 35, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaUniversity Hospital for Craniomaxillofacial and Oral Surgery, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstr. 35, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaThe 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 (<i>p</i> < 0.001). FFP2/FFP3 respirators were, when available, most frequently used in Austria (86.9%), followed by Switzerland (61.2%) and Germany (56.7%) (<i>p</i> < 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/3/364SARS-CoV-2COVID-19lockdownonline surveyquestionnairedentistry |
| spellingShingle | Vera Wiesmüller Emanuel Bruckmoser Ines Kapferer-Seebacher Katharina Fink Sabrina Neururer Dagmar Schnabl Johannes Laimer Dentists’ Working Conditions during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: An Online Survey Healthcare SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 lockdown online survey questionnaire dentistry |
| title | Dentists’ Working Conditions during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: An Online Survey |
| title_full | Dentists’ Working Conditions during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: An Online Survey |
| title_fullStr | Dentists’ Working Conditions during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: An Online Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dentists’ Working Conditions during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: An Online Survey |
| title_short | Dentists’ Working Conditions during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: An Online Survey |
| title_sort | dentists working conditions during the first covid 19 pandemic lockdown an online survey |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 lockdown online survey questionnaire dentistry |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/3/364 |
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