Background Dental health care providers (DHCPs)are at high risk of cross-infection during clinical practice therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the DHCPs Covid-19 related concerns, its perceived impact, and their preparedness in Saudi Arabia. Methods This cross-sectional study on DHCPs was carried out at five dental teaching hospitals/colleges in four provinces of Saudi Arabia from October to December 2020. A 35-item valid and reliable questionnaire was used to assess the concerns, perceived impact, and preparedness of DHCPs in the COVID-19 pandemic. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to compare parameters between the clinical and non-clinical staff. Results A total of 320 DHCPs participated in this study with proportion of clinical staff (57.5%) surpassing the non-clinical staff (42.5%). The clinical DHCPs felt greater odds of falling ill with COVID-19 than non-clinical workers (OR, 2.61) and willing to look for another job (OR, 3.50). The higher proportion in both groups was worried that people close to them would be at higher exposure risk (96.3%) however, slightly more clinical DHCPs were concerned for their children than a non-clinical worker (OR, 3.57). The clinical DHCPs have greater odds of worrying that people would avoid them and their family members because of their job (OR, 2.75). A higher proportion in both groups (75.0%, 63.2%) felt that they would feel stress at work. More non-clinical DHCPs (94.1%) had received training for infection control than clinical (94.1% vs 63.0%: OR 0.10). Similarly, more DHCPs in the nonclinical group received adequate personal protective equipment training (88.2%; OR, 0.48). Most participants practiced self-preparation such as buying masks and disinfection (94.4%, 96.9%). Conclusion The majority of DHCPs felt concerned about their risk of exposure and falling ill from infection and infecting friends/family. These concerns could potentially affect the working of DHCPs during this pandemic. Measures to improve protection for DHCPs, minimize psychological implications, and potential social stigmatization should be identified at the planning phase before any pandemic.

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The transition of an undergraduate dental student to an actual practicing dentist is a crucial phase and ensuring the preparedness of graduates for the complexity and demands of contemporary dental practice is a challenging task. This study aimed to evaluate the self-perceived preparedness of undergraduate dental students and house officers in the dental colleges of Pakistan. A cross-sectional national study was planned to collect information from dental students and new graduates in Pakistan. The pre-validated Dental Undergraduates Preparedness Assessment Scale (DU-PAS) was used. A purposive sampling technique was utilized to recruit house officers and undergraduate dental students from 27 dental schools in Pakistan. The data analysis was carried out using the R statistical environment for Windows (R Core Team, 2015). A total of 862 responses with 642 females and 219 males were analyzed in the study. Overall, the clinical skills score was 30.56 ± 9.08 and the score for soft skills was 30.54 ± 10.6. The mean age of the participants was 23.42 ± 1.28. Deficiencies were reported in various soft skills and clinical skills attributes. The results highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of dental students and new graduates in Pakistani dental institutions. The findings may be used to further develop and strengthen the teaching and training of dental students in Pakistan.

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