COVID-19 and Personal Protective Equipment-Related Challenges Faced by Pediatric Dentists during patient care: A Qualitative Study

• Autor(a) principal: Karuna, Yarmunja Mahabala
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Shenoy, Ramya, Rao, Ashwin, Nayak, Anupama Panakaje, Thimmaiah, Charisma, D'Souza, Violet
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Pesquisa Brasileira em Odontopediatria e Clínica Integrada (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://revista.uepb.edu.br/PBOCI/article/view/2806
• topic: Pediatric Dentistry; Personal Protective Equipment; Psychology; Anxiety

Objective: To describe the challenges pediatric dentists face while caring for their patients during the pandemic. Material and Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted with purposefully sampled pediatric dentists. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews until the content of the collected data reached theoretical saturation. Data were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed using content analyses. Results: Seven participants (four females and three males) between 29 and 50 years participated in the study. Three themes emerged from the analyses: Anxiety and fear; PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and its impact on care delivery; and 3) Behavior management. Conclusion: Dental care delivery was challenging for pediatric dentists. They experienced high anxiety levels and modified their services according to the recommended guidelines while making accommodations to lessen patients’ COVID-19-related anxiety. The additional mandated PPE use affected the communication between the dentists and their patients, affecting their dentist-patient bonding.