Background Given the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to assess the dentist’s knowledge, preventive awareness, and attitude towards COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to assess dental professionals’ knowledge, preventive awareness, and attitude towards dental care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Study Subjects and Methods The study participants consisted of dental professionals working in government, private and academic sectors in Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire (Whatsapp and Twitter) was sent to dental professionals in July 2020. The questionnaire consisted of questions on dental professional’s demographic variables, their knowledge of the incubation period, the symptoms, mode of transmission, preventive awareness of COVID-19, and their attitude toward treating patients with COVID-19. Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were applied to compare mean ranks and a p<0.05 is considered statistically significant. Results This study included a total of 356 dental professionals (dentists and dental students) aged 22–60 years (mean±SD, 32.14±7.48 years). Majority of the participants were graduates/general practitioners (GP) 145 (40.7%), followed by post graduate (PG) student 108 (30.3%), undergraduate students 23 (6.5%) and specialist 80 (22.5%). Dental professionals showed a high level (>90% correct responses) of knowledge of COVID-19 except for the infection among comorbid patients 283 (79.5%) and incubation period of COVID-19, 164 (46.1%). An overall high knowledge of COVID-19 (87.26%), preventive awareness (88.64%) and a positive attitude (65.26%) towards dental care were observed among the study participants. The mean knowledge ranks differed significantly in different genders (p=0.029) and marital status (p=0.023), whereas preventive awareness differed significantly across various qualifications (p=0.004). The mean attitude rank was significantly higher among Saudi (182.29) compared to non-Saudi (141.36) study participants (p=0.025). Conclusion The dental professionals participated in this study demonstrated adequate knowledge of symptoms, preventive awareness, and a positive attitude towards dental care of the COVID-19 infected patients.

Background: Noise levels encountered during the dental treatments in different departments have deleterious effects on the ears of dental healthcare providers and there is scarcity of data in the literature in Saudi Arabia. Hence, the aim of the study was to determine the noise levels resulting from the usage of different specialty instruments and equipment. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to measure the level of noise produced by different specialty instruments and equipment within the dental clinics of the College of Dentistry, Riyadh Elm University (REU), Riyadh. The noise produced during the restorative treatments, endodontics and prosthodontics was recorded objectively using a decibel (dB) meter placed at a distance of 30 cm from the operator's ear. Mean noise levels were calculated and compared among the various specialty treatments using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Furthermore, Tukey's test was applied to perform a pairwise comparison between the groups. Results: An overall noise of 73.83 ± 4.39 dB was found to be generated within the dental clinical setting. A highest sound level of 79.44 ± 2.10 dB was observed during restorative treatment followed by 74.14 ± 3.08, 73.22 ± 1.93, 71.39 ± 3.37 and 70.97 ± 4.70 dB for endodontic, periodontal, and prosthodontic treatments, respectively. A statistically significant difference was observed in the noise levels produced from the different specialty treatments ( P = 0.000). Conclusion: The greatest noise level was recorded with the use of the amalgamator in restorative dental treatment. It was inferred that the noise emanating from all the specialty dental treatments was below the hazardous levels. Long-term exposure may, however, have adverse effects on auditory as well as general health.

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