Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global public health emergency against the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and since then has rapidly achieved a pandemic status. Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitude of oral healthcare professional towards Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) regarding preparedness of starting the dental practice post lockdown period. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey using a pretested, validated, close ended, structured questionnaire on oral healthcare practitioners (OHCPs) (n=952). The knowledge and attitude was assessed based on 12 questions getting score of 1 or 0 and on 5-point likert scale respectively. The descriptive summary statistics included percentages, means and standard deviations. Z test for proportion was used to compare the proportion of correct and incorrect answers. Results: The mean knowledge score was 4.94+1.58, 6.471±2.2 with 600(63%) having fair knowledge score. The majority of OHCPs 900(94.5%) showed a positive attitude with mean score of 8.321±1.9. Only 95(10%) of the OHCPs were completely prepared to practice dentistry post lockdown period. Conclusion: OHCPs have a positive attitude, yet, there are areas where gaps in knowledge was observed. To effectively control infection spread, well-structured training programs must be launched by government to raise their existed knowledge. Key words: COVID-19, lockdown, oral healthcare practitioners, preparedness