Awareness of potential oral and systemic risk factors for COVID-19 among dentists

Aim: Although the pathophysiological pathways have not been fully elucidated, it is assumpted that the systemic comorbidity variables described for periodontal disease may also apply to COVID-19. It was aimed to assess dentists' knowledge in the triangle of systemic comorbidities, oral-periodontal health, and COVID-19 and to contribute to patient care. Methods: A questionnaire containing 17 statements obtained from hypotheses in the current literature was sent to dentists via email. The first part of the survey contains demographic questions, including age, gender, speciality, years in work experience, and institutional affiliation, while the second part contains statements assessing dentists' knowledge about oral and systemic candidate risk factors related to COVID-19. Responses were set up as "agree", "disagree", and "undecided". Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was calculated for each item. An ICC value of 0.80 or higher was considered satisfactory. Results: 68.8% (n=353) of 513 dentists were female, 66.7% (n=342) were between the ages of 24-40, 67.3% (n=345) had a professional history of 10 years or more, and 49.9% (n=256) were specialists. 56.5% of participants agree that there may be common risk factors for periodontal disease and COVID-19. 74.1% of participants agree that improving oral care levels could reduce complications arising from COVID-19. The systemic diseases/conditions for severe COVID-19 that received the highest "agree" responses in the presence of periodontal disease were Diabetes (90.1%), Tuberculosis (87.7%), and AIDS (86.7%). The highest "undecided" responses were for independent statements created for relationships with necrotizing oral manifestations with fever upon COVID-19 diagnosis (42.3%), vesiculobullous lesions/ulcers (41.7%), atherosclerotic diseases (42.1%), and liver diseases (40.2%). The highest "disagree" response was for the presence of vesiculobullous lesions/ulcers with a COVID-19 diagnosis (17%). Compared to men, women used the "agree" statement more for independent statements given for AIDS, presence of common risk factors, pregnancy, and atherosclerosis (p<0.01) and for oral care level, COPD, liver diseases, and rheumatoid arthritis (p<0.05). The specialists of Periodontology gave more "agree" responses for statements about the course of COVID-19 with oral care level, periodontal disease and dysbiotic flora, the course of COVID-19 with periodontal disease and pregnancy, and the course of atherosclerosis-COVID-19. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the time of our study and the participating dentist population, it was observed that a sufficient correlation could not be established between COVID-19 and oral/periodontal health and the presence of systemic comorbidities, and there's a need to raise awareness through necessary training/seminar programs.