Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, School of Dentistry, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.
BMC Oral Health. 2024 Nov 28;24(1):1451. doi: 10.1186/s12903-024-05094-9.
The heightened risk of COVID-19 transmission during dental procedures has been a major concern in dentistry. To curb the spread of the virus, breaking the chain of transmission is paramount. This study aimed to assess infection control function in dental clinics using a supervisory checklist developed specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April 2020, Alborz University of Medical Sciences introduced a 46-item checklist to guide infection control. Regular inspections of clinics began in June 2020 and continued every 6 months. Inspectors, accompanied by either the clinic manager or the infection control team, completed the checklist to evaluate protocol adherence. This retrospective cross-sectional study presents findings from the initial round of inspections.
Clinics were categorized as adherent or non-adherent based on achieving at least 50% of the total checklist score. Of the 76 clinics evaluated, 66 (86.8%) met the adherence criteria. The highest compliance was observed in question 12 (separation of employee and patient restrooms), with 81.6% adherence. The lowest compliance was in question 31 (use of disposable waterproof shoe covers), with only 26.3% adherence.
Over 80% of dental clinics demonstrated satisfactory adherence to COVID-19 infection control protocols. However, to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19, particularly its more contagious variants, enhancing compliance across all infection control measures remains essential.
牙科操作过程中 COVID-19 传播风险的增加一直是牙科领域的主要关注点。为了遏制病毒的传播，阻断传播链至关重要。本研究旨在使用专门在 COVID-19 大流行期间开发的监督检查表评估牙科诊所的感染控制功能。
2020 年 4 月，阿尔伯兹医科大学引入了一份包含 46 项内容的检查表，以指导感染控制。从 2020 年 6 月开始，定期对诊所进行检查，每 6 个月进行一次。检查员在诊所经理或感染控制团队的陪同下，完成检查表以评估协议遵守情况。本回顾性横断面研究介绍了首轮检查的结果。
根据达到总检查表得分的至少 50%，将诊所分为遵守或不遵守。在评估的 76 家诊所中，有 66 家（86.8%）符合遵守标准。遵守程度最高的是第 12 个问题（员工和患者卫生间分开），遵守率为 81.6%。遵守程度最低的是第 31 个问题（使用一次性防水鞋套），只有 26.3%。
超过 80%的牙科诊所对 COVID-19 感染控制方案表现出令人满意的遵守。然而，为了进一步减少 COVID-19 的传播，特别是其更具传染性的变体，增强所有感染控制措施的遵守仍然至关重要。
