Risk Perception on Covid 19 and Biosecurity Practices in Private Dental Practice

Abstract

The arrival of SARS-COV-2 brought new positions on biological risks in dental practice, based on emerging and preconceived perceptions about the risk of cross-infection and COVID 19, as well as on the sociopolitical conditions of each context. The objective of the research was to understand the perception of risk regarding SARS-COV2, and to show how this influenced biosafety protocols in private dental practice. A qualitative study was carried out with individual interviews with ten dentists, which were audio recorded and later transcribed to perform content analysis from the theoretical contributions of risk anthropology. Fear sustained the perception of professional risk, which becomes more complex in the context of a lack of awareness about cross-infections in general, the multiplicity of sources of information and the divergent interests that move the flow of information around the subject, situations of which derives from the implementation of costly strategies, not always useful and occasionally unnecessary, whose practice also contributes to the vulnerability of the user population.