Attitudes of Dental Students in Indonesia About Infection Control During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Proper and adequate attitudes about infection control is important for clinical dental students, who may be exposed daily to virus. This study aimed to assess the attitudes of clinical dental students in Indonesia about infection control during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In a cross-sectional study conducted from May to June 2021, an electronic survey was administered to the dental students in clinical training at Indonesian dental schools. The online self-administered questionnaire consisted of two sections: sociodemographic information and attitude about infection control. The participants were 238 clinical dental students. Most of them were female, with an average age of 23.8 years (±3.3 years). The analysis of sociodemographic variables of the respondents showed that the more years of clinical training the students had, the stronger was their willingness to wear personal protective equipment (PPE). Clinical dental students in Indonesia in general have a positive attitude about infection control. However, courses at dental schools still need to include information about the additional roles of dentistry that account for pandemics.